


Seventh Time's the Charm

by Ray_1644



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Bisexual Character, Completely AU, F/F, F/M, M/M, Murder, Plotting, TV Show, based on the bachelor, crazy people
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-25
Updated: 2017-01-11
Packaged: 2018-05-16 03:04:21
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 60,774
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5811190
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ray_1644/pseuds/Ray_1644
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>John allows himself to be talked into making a fool of himself as the next Bachelor. He has men and women lined up and fighting for his heart. Including Sherlock Holmes and a potential serial killer. Will someone end up dead or just heartbroken?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. It's All Harry's Fault

John Watson was in his tiny, dingy little one room flat when his phone rang, he just let it go on ringing. If it was actually important they would leave a message and he could call them back. He didn’t want to take the time to deal with other people today if he didn’t actually have to. The number hadn’t left a message so he went on about his day and he went to his therapist and then was walking along with a coffee when he heard someone call out to him.

“John! John Watson? Is that you?” John turned around at the voice. “It’s me Mike Stamford, we were at Bart’s together…”

They ended up sitting on a bench and chatting for a few minutes and of course him being shot got brought up, with him going to war and the cane how could it not? Then the subject of flat shares got brought up and John’s interest in the conversation was suddenly a lot greater.

“Come on, who’d want me for a flat mate?” Skepticism leaked into his voice, it was true. An army doctor with PTSD? Who would want to live with that? They would have to be mad.

“You’re the second person who’s said that to me today.” Mike said between chuckles.

That caught even more of John interest. “Who was the first?” That was the lovely moment that his phone started to ring. “Hold on just a second Mike? This number has already called me today. I guess I need to see what they want with me.”

John stood up and walked a few paces away before answering the phone. “Hello?”

“Hi! This is Megan from Broadband Studios. Is this John Watson?” A perky female voice on the other end of the line said.

“Yes, this is he. What is this about?” With the way things were going these days he figured this would just be some other sales call about cars, or houses, or vacuums.

“I was just calling to remind you that tomorrow, at four pm, our producer is going to be stopping by your place with the papers and contracts so that you can look over them so that you can decide if you would like to participate on our show. We already have all the preliminary things that we would need. But you would have to agree to all the terms and conditions of course. Also, if there is anything you would like to add or change that can be done as well during that meeting.” Even when she was explaining things she sounded perky.

“I’m sorry. I’m extremely confused here. You must have the wrong person. I never signed up for anything, or auditioned for anything. I have no clue what show you’re even talking about.” John quickly ran his hand through his short cropped hair, it was starting to grow out, but it was still short due to his time spent with the army.

“It’s the Bachelor. And technically no, you didn’t apply, but your, uhm, sister Harry? Applied for you. Her application for why we should choose you was very compelling and all of our producers and staff seemed to think so as well. I had assumed that she had told you though. I’m sorry we hadn’t contacted you earlier.” Megan’s voice grew softer. She clearly wasn’t used to dealing with people who weren’t happy at being chosen.

“You have got to be kidding me! Well, tell them I’m not doing it! I’m perfectly happy as is thank you very much.” He was steaming mad. He isn’t even sure if he remembers a time when he has ever been madder at Harry than this.

 “Of course, sir! I never meant to imply that you weren’t! Would you please just meet with the producer tomorrow though and tell him then? If you don’t then this will all come down on me and then I’ll be fired.” Megan’s tone came out a touch softer and just a bit pleading. John Watson knew that he was being played, he knew it with every fiber of his being and yet he still couldn’t say no.

“All right. Fine I’ll meet with the producer, but the answer is still going to be no.” He sounded a bit resigned and he really really knew that he did. He had no idea he was so easy to play, but clearly he was. That was just a bit sad.

“Thank you, sir! Thank you, so much!”

John hung up the phone and walked back over to Mike that was still sitting calmly on the bench. “I would really love to meet the guy who is apparently just as hard to find a flat mate for as I am, but it seems that I have to go and murder my sister…”

“Oh, ouch tough luck mate. She do something?” Mike replied, he still had that small smile on his face. He was always one who wasn’t easy to unsettle.

A dark, dry laugh escaped John’s mouth. “Yes, she definitely did something. She signed me up for some stupid show without telling me.”

“Well if you need an alibi you know where to find me” Mike chuckled as he said it, mostly because he knew that John would never actually hurt Harry.

“Thanks Mike. I’ll talk to you later. Let me know if that friend of yours is still looking for a flat mate, yeah?”

 

John didn’t even bother calling Harry. He was way too angry at her. He needed to be face to face. He would just end up throwing his phone, that incidentally she had given him, and breaking it if he was talking to her over it. He walked to the main road and hailed a cab. After rattling off Harry’s address he leaned back and let the anger wash over him.

It wasn’t long until the cab was pulling up in front of Harry’s flat. He paid the cabbie, shot out the door, and was automatically pounding on the door to her flat. He knew she was there. She always was around this time of day. Until the door opened to admit him he refused to stop banging on it.

Harry opened the door bleary eyed and a bit bloodshot. She didn’t look like she had been drunk, but he couldn’t really tell. Usually she was really good about hiding it. “What in the bloody hell did you do?!”

She flinched away from him. Not because she thought he would hit her, but because he was so damn loud. “John… what the fuck?” She opened the door wider to let him come inside and he did barge through the door and into her living room. He was going to sit down, but he decided that he was too angry and chose to pace instead.

“Harry! What the flying fuck were you thinking?!” John shouted again.

“You are going to have to be a bit more specific here. I’ve done a lot of things.”

The frustrated groan that came out of John sounded almost as if he was dying. “When you decided to put me up for a dating show called the bachelor. They called me today and said that I have a meeting with a producer tomorrow to finalize details! I didn’t even know I was up for the damn job.”

“Oh…” The sound was small. Almost quiet and contrite.

“Oh. Oh? Harry! Oh isn’t exactly a good enough explanation!” He was about to burst. His nails were digging into his palms from all the pressure to keep himself from punching a wall.

He watched as his sister finally sat down on the couch that she had had since she had moved into this flat a long time ago with Clara. She took a deep breath, glanced up at john once then looked back down. “Well I kinda signed you up after Clara and I broke up. I wanted her to come back, but I knew she wouldn’t you know? Especially because our family is great at being phenomenally unhappy. You had just gotten back and were doing terrible. With the PTSD and everything it was understandable, but then you were still doing bad. So I signed you up. I had hoped that if anything, seeing one of us be happy, then there might be a chance for the rest of us.”

Some of his anger drained away. Harry had actually tried to stop drinking for Clara. It hadn’t worked of course, but she had refused any kind of professional help, which she did need. Maybe this was a way to get her to actually do what she needed to. “Harry, I’ll do it. On one single condition.”

“What? What is it?” Now harry was the one who was confused. She had forgotten that she had even signed her brother up for a while there. Now that she remembered though she had expected out right refusal to ever participate.

“You get professional help with the drinking. I know that you want to stop. I saw it when you were with Clara. You tried so hard for her. So go to a therapist, AA meetings, get a sponsor. It all does help and it doesn’t make you crazy. You do that, I’ll do the show, and Clara will be back here with you in no time. Okay?” His voice was soft, but commanding. He was leaving no room for argument on this one.

“Blackmailing me now into getting sober? I didn’t think you had it in you, John.” Harry spoke the words without a trace of humor so for a second John thought that she was going to go absolutely ballistic on him, but then he noticed the tiny smile she had on her lips. This would allow her to get the professional help she needed without her having to actually claim to seek it out on her own. He should have thought of this ages ago.

“Oh, don’t pretend that you wouldn’t blackmail me the second that you had anything that would actually be useful material to work with.” John let out a small chuckle himself. She had been trying to get worthwhile blackmail material on him for years. This show would probably provide national audiences with blackmail material on him.

“Yeah, John. Okay. I can do that. I really do want Clara back. I miss her, you know?” Her smile this time was bigger but a bit more watery. John knew exactly how hard it was for her to accept his terms. She was a very independent person, she was strictly against letting people help her. Much like himself.

“The producer is coming by my place tomorrow. Why don’t you stop by around two or three and you can show me the therapist and the AA group you’ve found that you will go to. I also want you to let mum and dad know about it. I will keep in touch somehow. So I’ll know if you’re going or not.” He tried to scowl at her this time, but it turned into something a lot softer.

“I know you will John. You have always looked out for me.”

“Plus, I do want a second pair of eyes looking at those papers tomorrow so I’ll know if I’m signing away my soul or something.” John’s grimace was definitely real this time. There was no doubt about that one.  

“Yes, all right. I’ll be there around three. I’ll stop off to show mum and dad first. I won’t mess this up, John. I know you’ll quit if I do and out of all of us you deserve some happiness.” She went to grab her computer to get started on her research now so as not to put it off until the last minute. If she did, she would never actually do it.

“So do you, Harry. That is the only reason that I’m doing this you know? I really wouldn’t be if it was just for myself. I’m going to be a terrible, awkward, mess. It’ll be a miracle if anyone even wants to stay past the first round.” There was that grimace again. He really couldn’t imagine what the producers of this show could want with him. He was an ex-army doctor with a limp and PTSD. Not exactly a prime candidate for marriage.

A huge snort followed by a scoff was heard from the couch which made John turn back toward his sister. “You really don’t know do you?”

“What?”

“Come on, John! I mean yeah they want you for your story army doctor, war veteran, etc, it does tell a good story for them. Their ratings have been down. That much I do know. I also know that you come across as a nice guy. So even if some of the contestants they get will be drama filled bitches because they always are most fans want to be able to root for the actual star, but recently the stars have been on the not so nice side as well. That is what I think won them over.” Harry was giving him that classic sister knows better than brother smile after she finished talking. 

“So they plan to pimp me out to twenty-five or thirty crazy people who are all terrible, drama filled, and mean?” John’s jaw was just about clenched and his eye might just start to develop a tick pretty soon.

“Well without a doubt there will be at least a few people in there that are purely for the drama factor. They are going to have you take personality tests though. Then they will bring in people who would match well with you. So there should be someone who you would actually like and could maybe fall in love with in that batch of thirty. I hope so anyway.” A calm settled over her features and she went back to looking at her computer.

John knew that meant that the conversation was pretty much done for the day. There wasn’t really much else he could say anyway. “All right, Harry. I’ll see you tomorrow at three. Remember to give copies to mum and dad.”

“I’ll be there.” The tone of confidence in her voice was good to hear, it hadn’t been there in so long that he had almost forgotten what it had sounded like.

 

The next day went by way too slowly and way too quickly at the same time for John. He was twitchy waiting for the time when Harry would knock on his door and then waiting for the time when this producer would come and knock on his door as well. It was going to be one hell of an interesting day.

He had managed to get Mike’s number off of him the other day. To pass some of the time between cleaning the small space that he lived in so that it would actually be habitable for the couple of people that would be congregating there in a few hours, he decided to text the man.

 

_Hey Mike. This is John. Turns out I don’t need an alibi or a flat mate, for a few months anyway. Though I might need one after a bit. - JW_

 

**Hello John! I guess Harry talked you into doing that show she signed you up for huh?**

 

_Yeah, she did. I got something out of the deal too though. So it isn’t totally one sided. - JW_

 

**Good man, John!**

 

_Yes, I thought so! You’ll have to watch the show. I’ll probably make an arse of myself. It’s the bachelor. - JW_

 

**Oh, I’ll make sure to watch! Also, it’s probably good about the flat mate. I went to see him later that day. He’s more mad than usual. In excellent form. It would take someone just as mad to live with him.**

_Oh, I don’t know. I’ve lived with Harry all these years. And then I invaded Afghanistan if that doesn’t qualify I don’t know what would. Haha. Thanks for the offer though, mate! I still may take you up on it when I get home. - JW_

 

**True enough! And sure thing! I doubt he’ll be able to find a flat mate in the meantime. Don’t think you’ll be finding you’re true love on the show then?**

 

_If I’m honest I am a bit skeptical about it all. Who knows though? I guess it’s possible! – JW_

 

**Well good luck, mate! You’ll probably need it! And don’t get hung up in the drama actually have some fun!**

 

_I’ll try! Thanks Mike. – JW_

John had spent his hours making sure he and his space looked presentable. He’d never dealt with any kind of press before not even when he was in the army. He had also never dealt with anyone who was a producer before. The producer probably would expect certain things from John. John just had absolutely no clue what those things might be.

Harry finally showed up about twenty minutes late with puffy eyes and red cheeks. She knocked on his door and he jolted up from his desk chair. He had been worried about her not showing up. He shut his laptop on the still blank blog page and went to open the door to let his sister in.

She was a rush of energy right off. “Sorry! Sorry, I know I’m late! Mum and dad were just a bit excited about it all. They kept wanting to talk about it all and it was like they were never going to shut it. Then of course I had to come up with some reason other than ‘I was blackmailed by John’ as to why I was finally going to do all of this. So that took some extra time as well. I did somehow manage to fit in that you would be a part of one of mum’s favorite shows.”

“What? Harry! Oh, God… Now I’ll never get any rest tonight. You know they’ll never stop calling right?” John’s eyes closed when his phone rang as if just talking about them made then call as if summoned.

He let out a small pained sound that could only be interpreted as true ingrained irritation. He knew that if he didn’t answer now that his mother would never let up. The meeting with the producer and all that that would entail would be bothered with never ending buzzes from his phone. One deep, deep breath later and he picked up the phone. “Hey, mum.”

“John, Harry was just here with some news! It’s so wonderful dear she’s finally going to get some help with her drinking…” Her voice on the line held that frantic tone that meant if he didn’t interrupt her now that he would almost literally never get another chance.

“Yeah, mum! Harry actually just got to my place! Could you please let her share the news with me and I could call you back later tonight?” John knew it was kind of playing dirty since this news wasn’t really news to him at all, but it was the only thing that would successfully get his mother off the phone. She was bound to talk for ages otherwise.

“Of course, sweetheart! Yes, you should definitely let your sister tell you all about it. It is such wonderful news. I love you, John.” His mother gave him her parting comment.

“I love you too, mum.” He hung up the phone before he could feel too guilty about the small deception.

“Well, well, well… John Watson. You go from blackmail to deceiving mum in two days. Look at you. I’d say you are a different man.” Harry was standing back against his door with a mischievous smile across her lips. 

“Maybe I am. I did go to war you know.” The smile John flashed at her had an edge to it that he had never had before Afghanistan.

“Round one goes to you dear brother,” She made her comment while walking over to his very neat desk.

She pulled out quite a few papers from her large purse and spread them out over the desk. John started looking them over. Many of them were sheets that were lists of AA meetings across London and their times and locations. One was circled in bright red it was a time that met in a recreation center close to Harry’s flat, every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

“So would this be the AA group that you would go to then?” John asked actually curious.

“Yeah, I mean that’s the first one I plan on trying anyway. There are a lot. So if I don’t like the people or something then I can always pick a different one. And they aren’t like mandatory meetings. So I can just go in when I need one. Or if I feel my control slipping. I will have to go for my first timer’s chip thing. And to find a sponsor though.” She ran a hand through her already unruly hair. She had clearly already explained this once to their mum and dad and had repeated that same action.

“You really have looked into all of this, huh?” The shock in his voice was more than palpable.

“Yeah, John I have. Even if you might not believe me, I don’t actually want to be an alcoholic for the rest of my life. And I don’t want to fuck this up, for either of us.” Determination, that’s what was in Harry’s voice, John almost hadn’t recognized it.

John picked up the other couple of papers that seemed to go together. It was all a print out on a specific therapist that deals with trauma and substance abuse. She was out of an office in downtown London she seemed to be really highly recommended and would take cases such as Harry’s. “Have you called her office? Seen if she’d be willing to see you?”

“Yeah I have. They don’t have anything open for two weeks, but after that they have an open slot on a Tuesday at five so I’m going to go in then. If they plan to keep seeing me they’ll set up a schedule for regular visits beyond that.” Harry still had the smell of alcohol about her, he knew she could barely function without it on most days. This was going to be a hard road for her, but one that he hoped she would be better off for taking. He would be okay with it as long as she could live her life free of her addiction.

“Okay. This is good Harry! This is all good. Then once the producer person gets here I’ll tell them yes and look over all the paperwork and sign the paperwork and get to make myself a giant spectacle on the telly. You are okay with this, right? You do know I just want you to be okay and happy, all right?” John was giving Harry his serious face. He needed to make sure that one day she wasn’t going to come back and throw this in his face for some pointless reason.

“Yeah, John. I do know. I also know that if I can’t do this then I never have a hope in hell of getting Clara back. So I better do it, yeah?” Harry started to pack away her papers and sat dawn on John’s bed.

John still paced around he was annoyingly nervous. He had no idea why, but he was. He had never been on television. He wasn’t exactly the guy someone put on the cover of a romance novel. He walked with a fucking cane because of a limp! He wasn’t made for this kind of thing! Damn it… he was so going to blow this. No one would want to be there by the end. All of the contestants were going to be begging to go home. He would offer them the roses and they would say no, of course they would. It would be unbearable for him not the other way around.

A quick sharp triple knock on his door shocked him out of his internal monologue. It was ten minutes until four. Of course they would be early! This was a business meeting after all! John took one shaky breath in and was annoyed to realize that it was shakier on the exhale before moving to open the door.

When he did he wasn’t too surprised to see a tall elegantly dressed man standing before him followed by a smartly dressed woman. “Hello, are you John Watson?” The man spoke as he held out his hand.

“Yes, I am. And you are?” John instinctively put his hand in the other mans as manner indicated and they shook.

“My name is Lucas Tillman. I’m a producer over at Broadband Studios. The main producer who works on the program called The Bachelor. And this is my secretary Megan Greenaway.” He knew he had been played over the phone this more than proved it. The smile on Megan’s face was more proof that he really could have lived without.

“Please, come in.”

The two visitors made their way inside john’s tiny flat. And it really was a tiny little thing. Megan stood by the door against the wall her notebook out and ready to take notes. She looks as though her surroundings were of no notice to her at all.

John went to the bed and stood beside Harry, he introduced her and they all became acquainted and Lucas took the desk chair and John the bed next to Harry. Then the actual reason why they were all here began. It was going to be a long conversation.

“So, John. I heard that it was Harry here who auditioned you for our show.” Lucas spoke as though it was an honor, regardless of who put who up for the post.

“Yeah, she did. But I have decided that I will do the show in any case, if you still want me for the position that is.” John spoke quickly. He really had no clue how to do most of this double speak and saying what you mean without really saying it type of stuff that all of these big stars do.

“Yes, Mr. Watson, we definitely would still like to use you as our bachelor for this season. Would you like to see all of the paperwork and the contract?” Tillman spoke quickly and efficiently when he wasn’t trying to charm something out of someone.

“Yes, of course. And please just call me John.” He reached forward to take the papers out of the hands of the smiling Mr. Tillman. He cast one look over toward Megan and saw that she was also smiling, but she was hard at work taking rapid notes on her notepad.

John started looking over the contract and saw that everything was in place legally. Basically it just made sure to cover that the show wasn’t responsible if he did something idiotic and got himself hurt. It also made sure to cover the fact that he was allowing them to film him in these types of settings. Romantic and intimate settings. There would be nothing that would be shown that would ever not pass on a family channel since this airs on a family network. That does have to be stated and agreed to in the contract though.

He was also required to not tell anyone outside the show about what was happening on the show so that it couldn’t be leaked to tabloids and papers. He wouldn’t be allowed to call or text people except under supervision basically. Which is understandable if annoying, though who would he call?

Apparently it was also expected of him to show intimate contact on camera with at least a few/multiple participants throughout the course of the show. That one kind of struck him. If he really truly met someone it was going to be hard for him to continue to go out with other people and kiss them.

Also in the contract it has to be agreed that there will be travel out of the country and so the person needs to be able to have the necessary papers. The rest of the contract followed suit all smaller things that completely made sense with the nature of the show he passed over to Harry to read through once he was done to make sure he hadn’t missed something and went to work on the extra papers that had been handed to him.     

These were more of a list of things about the show and what the show would be about and what the show would provide for him. The first on the list was all of his meals would be accounted for. And the suits for cocktail parties and pretty much any outing. They wanted him to look his best at all times for the cameras.

He would also have basically his own suite of rooms at any place they stayed regardless of hotel they were in at the time. The main house that they were starting out at was a large old manor home that had been sold to the studio a long time ago that they renovated for this show.

Then there was a whole section based around the contestants. He would take them on one-on-one dates, group dates each week until there would inevitably be a two-on-one date. And home town dates would eventually happen where the last four remaining would take him home to their families. And then the remaining three would meet his family and he could offer them the overnight stay. And then he would have a last date with the last two and then he would choose one.

Then he reached the next part about the personality tests. He would take them all online and then they would match him with twenty-five women who would be potential matches for his personality type.

“Wait a second. I have a question.” John spoke up before he even realized he had done it.

“Yes, of course. What is it?” Mr. Tillman had been watching him closely. He saw when John’s forehead had started to wrinkle and knew a question was coming. He just wasn’t quite sure what it was going to be.

“Well, right here. It says that you’ll take my personality tests and then match me with twenty-five potential women for me. Just twenty-five women?” His question tone clearly threw Mr. Tillman off his game.

“Well, yes. That’s usually how it works. One bachelor and twenty-five women.” The producers frown was now remarkably confused. He had no idea where this was going. John didn’t seem the type of man who would want a number of women larger than twenty-five.

“No, yeah. I get that. Harry, you sent me in for this, didn’t you tell them?” John swung his gaze from Tillman to Harry. As he did he noticed Tillman following the same motion.

“No, I didn’t. I figured if mum and dad were going to be watching and all that you might not want to put it all out there for the world to see.” Harry was blushing brightly now. John had come out as bisexual after their father had just about thrown Harry out for coming out as a lesbian. John was still not as open with it as Harry was and he knew that was a constant source of friction between them. It was easier for their father to ignore it with John than with Harry.

“Why the hell not? I say I should go for it. Since this is all about me actually finding someone right?” John turned his gaze back on Tillman at the last question to show that that one was directed at him.

“Of course. We would like our contestants to come out of this with at the very least a relationship in the making.” Tillman’s response was rushed and not nearly as elegant as the words he had chosen earlier, but these two siblings sitting in front of him were clearly throwing him off.

“Right! Well then could we possibly change things up a bit?” the papers fell into his lap as he clapped his hands together. “Megan we may need your note taking skills.”

If this was just a bit of what was to come for this season it was going to be a great one Tillman thought and he hadn’t even heard what this ex-army doctor wanted to change. “Nothing too drastic I hope…”

“Oh, of course not. Well, you see I’m actually bisexual. So I wouldn’t want to have just a crowd of all women there. I would be ever so grateful if you could have maybe fifteen men and fifteen women there? Even out the playing field a bit.” A wry smile was spread across his face as Megan and Mr. Tillman both stared at him with mouths open.

John was just about to break the silence because it was starting to get a bit awkward with them both staring at him like that, but then they both broke out into smile. “Oh! This is going to be our biggest season yet! John, you are a gold mine for this show. We were going down before you and this season might just save us. Your story, your looks, your preferences. Perfect!” Mr. Tillman was no longer worried about his elegant look. He now just looked like a child on Christmas.

“Right! We’ll get to work right away if you’ll sign the contracts now and then we can email you the personality tests and then of course we can get to the task of finding you fifteen women and fifteen men to court you!” Megan’s perky voice was back in full and her pen was flying over the sheet of paper.

John grabbed a pen off of his desk and Harry handed him the contract to sign. He filled in all the necessary required fields signed his name on the bottom and then handed it over to Mr. Tillman. He got to keep the other papers and could email them or call them at will if he had any more questions. The show would start shooting in just two months so not long at all. They had all of his clothing sizes and a list of every potential food allergy. Everything possible that they could need. It felt like time was just about to speed up and he wasn’t quite ready for it to.

 

As soon as they left John collapsed into his desk chair. Harry came over to him to make sure he was okay. “You all right, John?”

“Yeah, I’m okay. Do you think I chose right? By choosing to have fifteen men and fifteen women?” John’s face was slightly pale. He had always been a bit more in denial about this half of himself. More than anything because it was just easier to find a woman w than to find a man.

“I do John. I think that it is a large part of who you are. This is about making you happy and you can’t be happy until you accept yourself, can you? But I think the big question is how do you feel about it?” Harry spoke more calmly that she had in a long time. It had been forever since she was the one playing counselor for John and not the other way around.

“No, you’re right. This is a good thing. I shouldn’t just hide behind liking women because it’s easier for me. Even if I’m a bit terrified about what dad will say. I better call them back anyway and then do that damn personality thing. I’ll see you later, Harry, and thanks.” His smile was a small and genuine one.

“Bye John. Love you.” Harry left him to his phone call and computer.

The phone call of course was a long drawn out affair. They spent a good hour talking about Harry and her treatment plan. Pros and cons and if it will work. Then they jumped straight into John being the bachelor. John said he signed up as a joke, but they want him to do it and he said yes. His mum was of course ecstatic, his dad thought it was an embarrassment. Then John said the part that he had really been dreading the whole conversation that for the bachelor since he was actually doing it he was of course going to take it seriously. So since he’s bisexual they are going to do half of the contestants as men and half as women.

His mum even got quite at that because his dad was screaming. Apparently all these years his dad had figured that his son had just been going through a phase and since he hadn’t seen it he had just grown out of it. Now it was going to be for all the world to see and that was a disgrace.

“Sorry about all that, mum. I guess I should be off now. I love you.” John had a resigned feeling sitting low in his chest. He doubted if anything could get his dad past sexual preferences these days.

"I love you too sweetheart, truly. I’m sorry about him. He’ll get over it. I promise.” His mum’s voice was sad too though. None of them really truly believed that anymore. He had been harping on this for years. They all hoped that seeing his kids happy would take precedence over something stupid like prejudice, but none of them were sure.

After he hung up he logged into his email and clicked on the links to the personality tests. He made sure to complete them all before showering and heading to bed. This day had been more than a bit emotionally draining. Hopefully he could even make it through the next two months until the show even started.


	2. Convincing Sherlock

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sherlock has a case on, but Mycroft seems to think that other things should be taking precedence at the moment, the only issue will be convincing Sherlock of that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I should have mentioned this on chapter one, but anything recognizable as with all of it is not mine, including some bits of the dialogue that are from the first episode. That all belongs to the amazing show that I wish I could have come up with! 
> 
> Please read and I hope you enjoy enough to review! :)

Sherlock was waiting in his flat. He had been staying in 221B Baker Street for all of a week now. He could have used a flat mate, but he could survive without one. He had more than enough means to pay for the rent of this flat on his own.

Mrs. Hudson bustled up the stairs with a tray of tea in her hands. “What do you think about all these suicides, Sherlock? Dreadful business.”

Sherlock whirled towards her and snatched up the cup of tea lightly before turning back to the window. He took a drink of the tea and then lowered it with a sudden focus that was completely intense. “There’s been a new one Mrs. Hudson. Something’s different this time. And they must be murders, not suicides of course.”

A few seconds later there were footsteps coming thundering up the stairs. When the detective inspector of New Scotland Yard came bursting in the door. “What’s different this time? You wouldn’t have come to me if something hadn’t have changed.” Sherlock was direct. He never beat around the bush when a case was in the air.

 “You know how they never leave a note? Well this time they did.” Lestrade looked a bit peaked. He was obviously nervous and more than a bit worried. People all over town were freaking out about these murders or suicides. No one knew what they really were and no one felt safe.

“Where?” It was clearly a demand that was issued out of Sherlock’s mouth.

“Brixton, Lauriston Gardens. Will you come?” The rush in his voice was even worse now.

“Who’s on forensics?” Sherlock asked. He knew who it was. He always did, but he asked anyway.

“Anderson.”  Lestrade bit out. He hated this part. The part where he knew he needed Sherlock Holmes more than any issue that a team member had with the man. He honestly found the man a bit amusing, though he’d never tell him that. The swell to his ego alone might just kill everyone in London.

“Anderson won’t work with me.” Sherlock’s tone clearly implied that he was going to need convincing, but no one could have missed the glee in his eyes. He was enjoying this.

“He’s on forensics. He’s not your bloody partner.” Lestrade was clearly getting annoyed now. Sherlock could tell the man was on the end of his rope. There was only so much pushing one man could take on any given day. “So, will you come?”

“Not in a police car. I’ll be right behind.”

As soon as the detective inspector left the flat Sherlock smiled so large and gave Mrs. Hudson a kiss on the cheek. “Oh! Four serial suicides and now a note! The game is on Mrs. Hudson! I’ll be home late tonight! We’ve got ourselves one clever murderer, staging them like suicides.”

 “Oh, look at you, all excited! It’s not decent!” Mrs. Hudson swatted at him, but Sherlock was already out the door his coat whirling after him.

 

The crime scene was as morbid as any other. Sherlock spent all of five minutes looking at and deducing the body, seeing everything that the police missed of course. The woman lying there dead dressed in that god awful shade of pink was clearly trying to spell the name Rachel and not trying to leave an angry note in German. She was also a serial adulterer who ran a string of lovers. He also concludes that she was staying only one night and was from Cardiff. When Sherlock made a comment about her suitcase and Lestrade clearly had no idea what he was talking about he realizes that the killer has made his mistake!

The case would be pink! It had to be! Just by looking at her any idiot could tell that she would just have an overnight bag and that she would have color coordinated it with her outfit. So, of course it would be pink! Obvious!

It would have only taken the killer about five minutes for him to remember that he had the case in the car with him. He must have driven her here since there was no car out front. The case would have still been there and as he was a man, statistically more likely the case anyway, it would be much too conspicuous for a man to carry around a small pink suitcase.

He would have ditched it someplace very quickly. Sherlock started searching all the back alleys that had dumpsters that a car could also fit into that were only a few miles from the crime scene. It only took him an hour to find the case and then he was on his way back to Baker Street.

Once he had returned to 221B he first nabbed Mrs. Hudson’s cell phone from her and went off upstairs. He always needed an extra cell when he worked a case. When he used his own people often recognized the number and chose to ignore it. It was listed on his website after all.

The first thing he did was open the case and go through it. A mobile phone should be in there to give him more information in to her life. Maybe if a lover had caught her stringing him along and figured that the suicides would be a clever way to cover up her murder. After just a few moments of searching though he realized that the phone was nowhere to be found.

He hurriedly checked the tag and was relieved to see a mobile number listed there in case it was lost on a flight or a luggage claim. Moving back to his couch he picks up Mrs. Hudson’s phone and sent off a text to the number.

_What happened at Lauriston Gardens? I must have blacked out. 22 Northumberland Street. Please come._

He closes the suitcase and then sets the phone on top of it and stares it down. He knows that he is waiting for. The murderer is on the other end of that phone. He knows it, he can feel it. This is what make him so good at his job. All of his deductions lead him to exactly the right answers. This time the deductions led him to the case, which led him to the missing phone, which led him to send it a message that anyone who had found the phone would ignore, but the murderer would panic.

The phone rang. An unknown number. Perfect! It was all coming together. Sherlock left Mrs. Hudson’s phone there. The murderer would only call once of course and he wouldn’t dare leave a message. He was clever. Sherlock went to Angelo’s restaurant and sat in the booth by the window. He was brought a cup of tea and he sat drinking it while staring out the window. He was mostly here just because he was curious if the murderer was really clever or if he was stupid enough to show up.

When the cab stopped in front of the building Sherlock went after it and after a bit of a chase he caught up. The man in the back was an American, not even in this country for a full day. Obviously not the murderer. Dull! He took off back to Baker Street to avoid the awkward questions of the street cops.

When he made it back to 221B Lestrade and Donovan and Anderson were all there with a few others doing a bloody drugs bust. They all got into it going on and on about how Sherlock was a psychopath and how he shouldn’t be let in on investigations if he was just going to keep information from them. And that they found the case in his possession anyway.

“Yes, because the case was pink and the murderer had dropped in a dumpster you bloody idiot. Where did you think he was going to put it? Carry it with him to his work?” Sherlock spat at Anderson.

“Sherlock you can’t keep information from us when we let you in on an investigation!” Lestrade all but screamed.

“Fine, tell me what you know and I’ll tell you what I know. I may gain useful information from what you have as well. You know you need me or you wouldn’t even be here.” Sherlock crossed his arms he wasn’t going to make this easy on them. Donovan and Anderson had always ganged up against him. So he wouldn’t give in.

“All right. We found Rachel. She was Jennifer Wilson’s stillborn daughter fourteen years ago.” Lestrade’s voice was softer. Clearly this was one of those emotional things. Hmm.

“Why? What? Why would she do that? She was dying and she had to carve that into the floor with her fingers. It would have been enormously painful. She was clever, why did she do it? She ran a string of lovers she was really clever. She had to have a reason…” Sherlock was standing there in the center of the room, all of a sudden he slammed his eyes closed. “Wait! I need to think. Anderson turn around you’re putting me off!”

“What?! My face is?” Anderson’s voice was an octave higher than usual in his outrage.

“Your back now!” Lestrade ordered. They did need Sherlock. Desperately.

“Oh! OH! She was clever. Rachel is not a name. She didn’t have a laptop, she did all of her work on her phone. When she got to Lauriston Gardens she knew she was going to her death so she left her phone on him. It is a smart phone and so it comes with an account and of course the username is the email that’s on her luggage and the password is all together now: Rachel!”  Sherlock was on a roll now.

“So we can what check her email?” Anderson called from across the room.

“Do shut up. You lower the IQ of the entire room when you speak. It was a smart phone it can do a lot more than just check her email. It has GPS enabled as well. So we can track the killer.” The small screen lit up and started narrowing its search. While it was working the door to the flat opened and in walked Mycroft.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Sherlock all but shouted.

“Hello brother mine. So wonderful to see you again. I do hope I’m not interrupting anything.” Mycroft moved to the couch and settled himself down with his umbrella settled next to him.

“You are! Get out!” Sherlock shouted, but his shout was only one of four.

“Wait there are two of you?” That one came from Sally Donovan.

“Holy shit!” Which inelegantly put came from Anderson’s corner of the room.

“No, please stay! Just a drugs bust is all. And trying to catch a killer.” The last overly polite greeting came from Lestrade and earned him a glare from Sherlock.

“Oh, I assure you detective inspector that my brother is in fact clean and sober at the moment.” His smile that was then turned on every single person in that room seemed to say that even if they could prove otherwise they probably wouldn’t live long enough to tell anyone about it.

After the spell was broken people started rushing around again not knowing what to do with themselves even the ever present annoyances that were Donovan and Anderson who were ever so confident that they were above Sherlock seemed to be nervous about coming into contact with Mycroft.

Mrs. Hudson came in at that moment breaking the spell in further into chaos. “Sherlock your taxi is here! Oh, my! This is all a mess…”

“I didn’t order a taxi, Mrs. Hudson!” Sherlock tried to shoo her back downstairs she didn’t need to get involved in all of this mess. If Mycroft was here when the police was here then it was obviously something that couldn’t wait. He never made public appearances.

“Sherlock, whatever case you’re on drop it. I’ve got a new one for you.” Mycroft wasn’t waiting for the Scotland Yard boys and girls to leave because he needed them to hear a part of this.

“No.” Simple and straight to the point. Sherlock thought Mycroft could appreciate that.

“Greg Lestrade, right?” Mycroft now addressed the man sitting in Sherlock’s normal chair.

“Yes,” he started himself out of his trance watching the two brothers go back and forth.

“You aren’t to give him any new cases until he accepts the one I give him. Do you understand? You do value your job correct?” Mycroft, damn him, was a man who did not look like someone who made idle threats. And he definitely could pull off anything he threatened.

“Yeah, all right… that important then?” Lestrade sat back and stared at the glaring Sherlock and the ever composed Mycroft.

“Yes, I do believe it is.” Was all that Mycroft replied.

Sherlock was about to go absolutely mad on both of them, but then the computer beeped at them all completely distracting him for the moment. It said that the phone was here that it was at 221 Baker Street, but that was impossible. It had been texted and then called back to Mrs. Hudson’s phone. It had not been in the case. He had not missed something so obvious.

Go back! What did he miss? Who hunts in crowds? Takes people from the middle of a busy street? In broad daylight? Oh! OH!

“Sherlock! I said drop the case you are on now. When I said no new cases detective inspector I meant this one as well.” Mycroft gritted out. He was at his threshold for annoyance now which made Sherlock almost smile, almost.

“Calm down, Mycroft. I’ve already solved it.” Sherlock said with a roll of his eyes and a toss of his hand.

“What?!” Was what was heard echoed around the room by every cop.

“Let’s hear it then.” Came from Mycroft of the other hand.

“Go right outside and it’s the man driving the cab. I never ordered a taxi so why is it here? The murderer is the cabbie. He can take people from crowed streets and in broad daylight people don’t notice them or think about it. It all fits” Sherlock explained calmly. “Most likely you’ll find the phone on him, also one or two bottles with pills in them those will be the poison that he has them take. Go ahead, Lestrade, make your arrest.”

Lestrade leapt out of the chair and moved out to go down the stairs followed closely by the rest of the cops. Sherlock heard the commotion outside and heard as Lestrade told the cabbie about his rights before he was being dragged off and put into the back of a police car.

Sherlock finally walked over and claimed his chair back. “What case could you possibly need me on so badly that you come in here and present yourself to so many people?”

“Sherlock…” Mycroft started in the tone that he knew irritated Sherlock to no end.

“What? You basically make it a habit to stay as far away from the public eye as you can. And now you’ve gone and told people that I see on a more or less regular basis that you are my brother. That is a bit of a drastic behavioral change.” Sherlock started him down his fingers coming together over his lips and chin.

Mycroft let out a small huff of air, the equivalent of a large sigh in anyone else. “This has been a fairly long ongoing investigation. Six murders. Spread out over a few years. All of them different cause of death but there was one aspect that never changed. A thick blue silk ribbon was found right over the victims heart with a dagger stabbed through it.”

“Is that it? It sounds like fairly straight forward murder investigation. I mean yes most murders don’t often deviate with their cause of death so much especially every time. Usually they’ll find one and stick with it, so what is so special about this case?” Sherlock was studying Mycroft now. He seemed more withdrawn than usual, like he might actually be losing sleep. That made Sherlock sit up a little straighter more than anything else. Holmes men don’t exactly lose sleep over a murder.

“All of the murders were committed on television shows. Every single one. Somehow the killer or killers manage to not be caught by any cameras regardless of how many there are. We’ve gone back and cross checked all of the shows, none of the people overlap. None of the contestants and none of the staff. I don’t have any place to even start looking. I’ve sent people on to the shows before. I’ve gotten information about which show might be hit next and that turned out to be true and then they still couldn’t catch them.” Mycroft fought the urge to run a hand through his hair. At this moment he actually understood the gesture.

“What?” Sherlock stood up and started pacing. Now he was thinking. “How could someone get away with that for so long? Who have you sent?”

“I first sent Patrick on one of those survival shows. Someone got murdered and he had absolutely nothing to show for it. And you know he is one of my best. Then this past show, I sent Catherine, you remember her? She was such a sweet woman. She went on one of those cooking shows. She was the one who was murdered. I’m- I’m not sure if it was because she was close to them or if it was because she was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.” Mycroft let his gaze fall to the floor.

Oh, this was why. This time the murders had gotten personal. It was quite different when a murderer takes someone you know even just a little bit rather than a complete stranger. “Right, so what does you intelligence say this time then?”

Mycroft was glad that Sherlock just moved past that bit. Neither one of them was much for emotional moments. “Yes well I was planning to send Anthea. I actually am still going to be sending her. However, I want to send you in as well. I think this time I would benefit from having multiple people in there. This way if one of you gets eliminated or in trouble there will be back-up on site. Anthea is quick and more than lethal. You however, are the clever one. I’m trusting the actual crime solving aspect more to you, brother mine.”

“Right, Mycroft. I know all about Anthea’s deadly tendencies. What you still haven’t told me is what the show is.” Sherlock was getting annoyed again.

“That was the original reason as to why I wanted to send Anthea. The original show was The Bachelor.” Mycroft stated and then stopped.

“Oh? And has that changed then?” Sherlock was now staring at him with one eyebrow raised.

“Not as such, no. More so the bachelor in questions preferences has changed.” Mycroft was now sitting there giving him a small smug smile.

“To what, Mycroft?” Sherlock bit out.

“Well apparently his tastes are more diverse. He likes men and women. So I shall be providing both a female and a male candidate.” Mycroft stood as he spoke this last part.

“No. I will not go on that show.” Trembling with rage Sherlock stood there not even knowing what to do. Mycroft knew how he felt about all of this.

“Yes, you will Sherlock. You won’t be getting any more cases until you say yes.” His umbrella was propped against the doorway, sure of victory.

“Blackmailing me, Mycroft?” All he wanted to do was smash that bloody umbrella over his smiling head. 

“It does seem to do the trick when necessary, Sherlock.” With one smooth move he grabbed his umbrella and moved to walk down the stairs. “Ring me once you’ve decided to say yes!”   

 

_Give me a case, Lestrade! - SH_

**NO!**

It took a solid two weeks of texting Lestrade and asking and coming so close to almost begging for a case before he finally caved. He was so bored. He was actually literally going to die of boredom if he didn’t get something to do and soon. Apparently Mycroft had even gotten to Molly because he had tried to go to the morgue for experiments on day two of his case exile and wasn’t even allowed within ten feet of a body.

_FINE! I’ll do it. Tell Lestrade I can do cases again. – SH_

**Only once you’ve signed the contract. – MH**

_UGH! FINE! Stop by the flat then! I’ll sign the damn papers. – SH_

**I knew you would, Sherlock. See you soon. – MH**

It was only about an hour after his surrender via text message that Mycroft arrived with all of the papers. It was a large stack only a few of which that Sherlock was actually required to sign.

“I’m guessing you’ve already looked through these? So give me the overview. I don’t have time to read them and I don’t want to. Just tell me what I’m signing.” Sherlock burst out as soon as Mycroft handed over the papers.

“Basically you are signing a contract that says you won’t talk about the show while you are on it to people who aren’t. Which we will be breaking, but that’s too bad for them. That you will surrender your phone. Also, going to break that one, but your new phone is going to be comepletely silent and not traceable. Giving the show permission to film you and any potential intimate moments that you have. It also covers the show if you do something stupid and get hurt that they are not liable.” Mycroft as always explained things as efficiently.

Sherlock took the pen that was offered and signed his name on all the spots where it was required. “So what is the rest of this?”

“Lists of possible activities so you know what kinds of clothes to pack and a facts sheet about the bachelor in question. There is no picture for him. They want it to be a surprise apparently. They have given very scarce information. They say his name is John Watson, he was in the Army, he was a doctor, and he has a sister who was the one who had him sign up for the show. That’s all.” Mycroft had a look on his face as though he had just eaten something sour.

“Well that’s just pathetic. I’m fairly certain that I’ve had better facts sheets from three year olds.” Sherlock dropped the papers on his already cluttered desk.

“Hmm… on this pint we undoubtedly agree. The show starts in about a month and a half I’ve already secured you a spot on the show as well as Anthea. I have already texted Lestrade allowing him to send you cases until then.” Mycroft picked back up the contract that had been signed by Sherlock and moved toward the door.

“You do realize I will probably be out in round one right? Anthea will last. She has her looks going for her regardless, but I highly doubt this John Watson will want to keep me around.” Sherlock stated. He had been called a freak since elementary. He had never dated. He wasn’t exactly having girls or guys lining up to ask him out.

“Try to charm, Sherlock. I’ve seen you do it. To get information from a witness or a friend of a witness or something of that sort. People look at you in a certain sort of way. Flirt, Sherlock. You do it all the time to get things. Yes, it may not be just for five minutes, but I’m more than certain that you can pull this off.” Mycroft wasn’t so certain on the inside, considering Sherlock being Sherlock was one of the things he needed for the case. He needed his brother to figure out who was murdering people. If Sherlock got distracted by playing someone else then he wouldn’t be able to focus on the task.

“Please… If he can’t handle a few deductions is he even worth my time?” Sherlock spat at him. Mycroft had nothing to worry about and as he moved to step out onto the stairs he let a small smile play over his lips.


	3. That First Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> John meets his potential love matches. It's the first night. There is a first impression rose and the first rose ceremony. I hope you enjoy it! Please read and review!

John was inordinately nervous.  He had faced down war zone dangers and a lot of very angry people shooting at him, this should be so easy. And yet here he was about to start having some kind of panic attack.

He had gotten to the old renovated manor house yesterday and given the grand tour. He was shown around the inside and the grounds by no less than ten different people and given leave to explore on his own.

He was shown his own rooms and where he could keep all of his own stuff along with the extensive closet of clothing that the show had provided for him as well. Then of course he was treated to the food that was prepared by the cooks that would be almost constantly there and on call.

 He had also met with the show’s host that day. The host and the producer were two quite different people. Where Tillman had been understated though still dressed nicely, this new man Mr. Marcus Billings, was very outgoing. John seemed to guess that was how it had to been when hosting a public television program. He had watched enough of them while he had been recovering.

Now he stood here feeling ridiculous while he waited for the first limo to pull up that was either full of five girls or five guys that he would be introduced to that would then go inside and would start to compete to win his love. UGH this all sounded so ridiculous.

“Are you ready, John? There’s the first car.” Billings said. His voice had that edge of excitement to it. John knew that it was all an act for the cameras and the show and the audience watching at home. Even though they wouldn’t even be seeing this for another couple of months.

 “As ready as I’ll ever be.” John tried to force as much enthusiasm into his voice as he could. He must have at least done a partially good enough job because no one start to yell at him from off camera.

“Well here they are, I’ll leave you to it.” Marcus took a few steps off to the side behind the cameras now and John pasted a smile on his face as the limo came to a stop. The diver stepped out and opened the door.

The first woman out was of course very beautiful, he was expecting to be awed by beauty tonight at the very least. He wasn’t surprised at all that the show decided to start with a limo full of women first they would want to wait and surprise the viewers who didn’t already know about the little twist.

All of the women out of the first limo were stunning just as John had expected. Fist it had been Stacy Morgan, who he could honestly barely remember already, not an overly good sign. Then there was Sarah Sawyer, she was pretty, and also a doctor. So they had something in common right off. Which was definitely a good sign.

Third had been a girl named Anthea Johnson. She had been quiet, but probably the most gorgeous girl he had ever seen. The fourth girl had been a Mary Morstan, she was very pretty with her shy smile and short blonde hair, and she was also a nurse. Then there was an Elizabeth Conrad who seemed rather serious, but was a decorator of some kind?

The next limo once again held five more gorgeous women. This time there were two that John just couldn’t seem to remember as soon as they walked away. Marie Franklin and Kelly Michaels were both lost in his short term memory. He was meeting so many people that only the ones that he had some sort of instant connection to seem to be remembered.

The other three in that second limo though were remembered. Marissa Heron was absolutely gorgeous, as well she should be considering she held a job as a model. She had long black hair that she constantly drew attention towards and lovely tan skin. There was also Kayla Marks with her short golden blonde bob hair cut who was a newspaper editor. Then the last one was Amanda Richardson who seemed to be very confident in herself with her brown copper colored hair and her job as a real estate agent.

This next limo would be the third and final limo of women. John again could only remember three of the five. He was really starting to doubt his ability to do this, but then he remember that he would have to send people home and maybe this would make that bit easier. He couldn’t remember anything about Samantha Newport or Haley Clark except their names. He could barely even picture them if he tried to at the moment.

The three that he did remember on the other had were quite clear. One was Veronica Fells who was a columnist at a magazine. She had startlingly curly brown hair that looked very good on her. The next was Amy Martin who was sweet and shy with lovely straight red hair who was a nanny. Then last but not least there was Kathleen Shale who had a lovely shade of deep brown hair and who was a teacher.

After the women had all settled inside Marcus had come back out from behind the cameras to stand next to him “So what do you think of the contestants so far John? How do the women seem?”

“They’re lovely. Yeah. I mean are they really all here for me? They can’t be right? I mean come on, every single one of them is out of my league.” John turned pleading eyes toward Marcus. He was kind of waiting for someone to say that this was one giant elaborate prank.

 “Nope, sorry, but they are all here for you. Every single one of them want to win your heart John Watson. Get used to it. Oh, here comes the next limo. Are you ready?” Marcus put the excitement back into his voice.

“Not even a little bit.” John commented, but he did smile while he said it so he thought that that should count for something and he still wasn’t being yelled at so that was something.

This was the first limo of men and of course they all looked wonderful dressed in suits. John was so nervous though that he forgot two of them right off the bat. Mark Williams and James Fin were easily forgotten. Derek Moore on the other hand was very good looking. He was a CEO and he exuded power and charm like any good CEO should. Then there was Kevin Underwood who was almost the exact opposite of Derek. He was an IT guy. He was slightly clumsy and was a bit socially awkward, but sweet.

And then of course there came Sherlock Holmes.

When Sherlock stepped out of the limo he straightened his suit looked John over once and then started walking toward him. He paused right before him and instead of the customary greeting that he had been getting all night from every single person who had walked toward him this evening he simply said, “Afghanistan or Iraq?”

John was confused, then shocked, then back to confused. “I’m sorry how did you- ?”

“Did you serve in Afghanistan or Iraq?” Sherlock addressed him. He knew he was throwing him off guard, but he knew better than most that he could potentially get people to be awed instead of insulted by his deductions.

“Afghanistan. How did you know? I thought the contestants were only told that I served not where I served on the facts sheet.” John was still staring at the man in front of him. He was probably the most interesting one he’d met all night.

“That was not a facts sheet. That was a waste of paper and a pathetic excuse for a facts sheet. I simply observed. I’m fairly certain I’ve learned more about you being in your presence for two minutes than I did from that facts sheet.” Sherlock scoffed.

“Right, so what have you learned then?” Sherlock could feel himself start to blush as john spoke.

“Talk to me inside and maybe I’ll tell you.” This was probably Sherlock’s best attempt at flirting. He really had no clue how it was going. He wasn’t much on reading if he was being well received by another person or not. Half the time people ended up leaving the conversation halfway through.

“Hmm maybe I will. Well you do seem to have me at a disadvantage. I didn’t get a facts sheet on you, however pathetic.” John held his hand out to shake.

Sherlock reached for it. “Sherlock Holmes. It’s a pleasure to meet you Dr. Watson.” Instead of just shaking John’s hand though Sherlock took hold of it and casually puts a kiss on his knuckles. Johns intakes a quick breath of air even though he tries to conceal his reaction.

When Sherlock stands back up to his full height he sees that John is blushing a pretty pink color with his teeth biting into his bottom lip. He knew he had made an impression on the ex-army doctor at the very least he hoped that it would be enough to keep him long enough for him to catch a murderer that was clever enough to get away without getting caught on camera.

Sherlock gave one parting smile at John Watson and he made his way into the manor that was already teeming with contestants. He started deducing his way through them easily enough.

John Watson was still outside about to have another panic attack as the second limo of men pulled up. He had never had that kind of visceral reaction to a man before. That tall, lithe, black haired man named Sherlock was something different. He was definitely in a class all his own.

He had also never been so bold with another man before. John had actually flirted back. Easily and quickly! As though it was a completely natural kind of banter between them. He already felt like he was in over his head and he hadn’t even really started at all.

The next limo had already pulled up and the door was already open yet again. The next man who introduced himself was adorable in a sort of nerdy way. Spencer Hunt was a man who worked wonders on the stock market. Sebastian Jones came next and he was a banker and didn’t seem all that intriguing. Ian Burke was the man after that and he was one who was full of his personality, apparently a debt collector. Ryan Sparks was probably the most classically handsome man among the contestants, which was something that he seemed to know very well if his background as a male model had anything to say about it. The man in this group that John really didn’t remember was Eric Benson, nothing just clicked about him.

The last limo finally pulled up and John was thinking that he might be able to breathe again sometime soon. He just had to get through these last five… and then go in and talk to all of them again, for hours.

In this last limo John again could remember two out of the five men. Keith King and Alex Ford were both just big blank slots for him. The other three though he could remember fairly well. Though not in sharp clarity like he could remember Sherlock. Mason Cartwell was a photographer, he also was apparently bisexual just like John. Joseph Sharp on the other hand was a stand-up comedian and clearly very quick with a witty retort. Then there was the last man Ben Hartford who was a very modest entrepreneur.

When all of the men had shuffled inside John thought he might just collapse right there. Marcus however had other plans. He came right over to him and said in that false high and excited tone, “So, do you think the love of your life might be here?”

Without his permission to do so his mind automatically went to the feeling of Sherlock’s lips on his knuckles and then he answered before he could do anything to stop himself. “Yeah, yeah, maybe.” He could even feel a small smile on his face. His entire body was betraying him. UGH.

The camera men yelled cut and then everyone was moving around as if they knew exactly where to be. Marcus dropped the excited host voice and talked to him in a normal tone. “Hey John come over this way a bit, yeah? The producer wants to talk to you about the first impression rose thing and the whole rose ceremony tonight.”

They walked into a spacious ground floor office to the side of the manor that had been cleared for the staff to use. Lucas Tillman was on one side of the large desk slouched in a chair talking into his cellphone and John and Marcus stood on the other side. Lucas motioned for them to sit as he continued talking, but in just a moment he had hung up the phone. “Hello! How was the arrivals and all of that?”

“Everything went smoothly.” Marcus spoke quickly.

“Yeah it was all fine. I mean I don’t know how I’m supposed to remember thirty people, but it was good.” John said. He felt like he needed to say something at the very least.

“Hmm. Yes, well that was one thing we wanted to talk to you about. Traditionally we only have twenty-five contestants and we narrow it down to twenty at the first rose ceremony. You are starting at thirty, but we still want you to narrow it to twenty at the first cut. We do want you to keep it even on this round though. So five men and five women will have to go.” Lucas spoke just as he had when John first met him with crisp clarity.

“Okay that sounds pretty fair. What about the other times? When I start to have connections. Can I send home who I want to then and not have to keep it even?” John was worried about having to send someone home who he liked more and keeping someone who he liked less.

“Yes, of course. This is just for tonight. Also there is a first impression rose in there at the party. As for tonight we need you to give it to one of the women.” This time when Lucas spoke he seemed less sure.

This was most likely because everyone had seen exactly how John had reacted to Sherlock. John had already planned in his head on giving Sherlock the first impression rose. No one else had earned the damn thing. The only person in that room that he really needed to talk to again was that man. John started to open his mouth to protest when he was cut off at the pass.

“Just hear me out. I know that you probably already have some idea as to who to give it to, but please. The big CEOs over at the studios are liking that this will give us ratings. They love that to be honest. However, they are old guys and they are very old-fashioned men. So they seldom see things the way we do. So giving the first impression rose to a woman will be a small little token for them. Nothing else. We aren’t hindering you. Or making you send anyone home you don’t want to. Just give a few roses at different times that’s all, I promise you.” Lucas was clearly pleading with him and John caved, it wasn’t unreasonable.

“All right. I will not send anyone home that I don’t want to though. I will not keep anyone for you that I don’t want to either. So if it ends up as a final four guys, then that’s how it ends.” John was not going to budge on this. When he decided to do this he decided that he was really truly going to do this. “Also I do have a question any more news on if I can have a phone or not? I really have no plans, but to check on my sister’s rehab progress. That is all I want it for.”

“We’ll look into it John. If there is a way we’ll get you one. You do have a right to know how she’s doing.” Lucas spoke for the both of them, Marcus clearly agreeing with an eager head nod.

“Okay let’s get you ready for the cocktail party.” Marcus was way too excited about this.

 

While John had been greeting the rest of the contestants and having a chat with his producer Sherlock had been more than ridiculously bored. Everyone in this place was boring. Except maybe a killer, but who was it? Staff or contestant…

Sherlock took a turn around the room a few of the women were eying him. No, too sexual to be a criminal knowledge of him. Boring. As each new man entered the room the women continued to gossip, apparently not all of them had known about this current bachelor’s preferences. Hmm, interesting. How would they react?

Sherlock decided to just start with the basics and deduce the people around him. He started with the men. They were statistically more likely killers. Though with the silk ribbon, understandably it is in question if it is a women. Also with the question of a partner thrown in it could potentially be a male and female pair. So nothing can be ruled out.

The people here were disgusting. The male model alone probably had two, no three, diseases. And he came here to meet women not to even attempt to date the man that was supposed to be the object they all wanted. The model was going to try for the annoying girl with the bitchy face soon enough and she was more than likely going to sleep with him. They were bound to be caught out. No murderers there then.

Sherlock completely skipped over the group Anthea was chatting with. She would get information out of them at the moment, he could come back to them at a later time. He continued moving around the room like that just deducing the people’s lives like he would any case. The woman with brown hair, she was a doctor, probably someone John would choose. They had similar professions. The way she held herself and the cut of her nails clearly said doctor.

There were a few more mundane men and women that he deduced boring jobs and boring lives from. Nothing and nothing about them. It was pointless. It was all just boring material. Then he tried to deduce the blonde woman. Her hair was short and she was perfectly made up. Everything about her said rich and wealthy lifestyle. Everything about screamed money. And not old rich dead parents or grandparents, no, this is new money. This money is enjoyed and spent on frivolous diamond and pearl rings and bracelets and necklaces and earrings.

From all that he had heard though they are no rich stars here tonight, if there were Mycroft would have said something, Anthea would know. He moved closer to her and got her attention. She was a lot better at subtly getting away from conversations than he was. Granted usually he just up and left then. Who cares about niceties?

“What is it?” Anthea asked. But she acted as though they were just meeting for the first time. Shaking hands.

“The blonde woman? Profession?” Sherlock questioned, but shook her hand in return.

Anthea smiled and laughed a little, but gave it some thought. He knew that she was pulling up the data. “Mary Morstan. She’s a nurse I believe.”

“No, she isn’t. No nurse wears that many diamonds on her throat, wrist, and ears. I’ll bet you anything she’s got pearls and all other kinds of gemstones as well.” Sherlock smiled down at her and then reached over to the plate of champagne glasses and grabbed them two still playing along as having just met. They toasted and drank.

“Good spot. I’ll look in to it.” Anthea was efficient as always.

“Also, the thought did cross my mind that it might be a partnership. So be aware.” Oh, God. Now he was getting sentimental.

 “Always. Cheers!” They toasted each other once more and then went off to mingle with the other people.

Anthea was doing well in that regard. She always fit to adapt when needed. Sherlock on the other had was not so lucky. He seemed to sit down as far from other people as he could and then there would be at least four other people around him. He couldn’t seem to escape it.

Marissa, Kayla, Amanda, and Veronica were the four that were currently surrounding him and he could see no escape route. He probably should have stayed in the back alleys of London because he knows those a lot better.

Amanda and Marissa were the two closest to him and they were both touching him. He was not a fan of people touching him. Actually he outright hated it when people touched him. This was no different. He felt the need to run and hide almost immediately. It was overwhelming.

“So tell us. You aren’t really gay are you?” Amanda was saying.

“Because if you are, then that is just a waste of some perfect cheekbones. I mean damn.” Marissa purred in his ear.

“There is no way we are letting you walk out of here without one of us on your arm.” Amanda completed Marissa’s thought for her.

“Hey! What are you doing to him! Can’t you see he’s uncomfortable?” A woman practically shouted from the doorway. She marched over toward them and Amanda and Marissa both backed off enough that he could get up and get away from them.

“Thanks.” Sherlock uttered. He hated saying it, but he thought it was owed.

“I’m sorry about them.” The women said. She looked genuinely apologetic.

“Why? It’s not your fault.” He was a bit startled by all of this.

“Yes, well on behalf of my gender. I’m Kathleen by the way.”

“I’m Sherlock.” They shake hands and he thinks that maybe he won’t have to murder everyone here.      

It isn’t much longer before John comes in to rounds of clapping and he starts to make his way around to everyone. Of course this means that everyone was on their best behavior even when he wasn’t talking when that person. So at least Sherlock was safe from being attacked again.

By the time that John made it through half of the people he had handed out the first impression rose. It ended up going to Sarah the doctor. Sherlock figured that would do the trick. The similar professions was bound to click for a man like John.

Sherlock was sitting alone in a little alcove like room. He had just seen John talking to Anthea, he wondered which made up past she had given him. He had to smile at that. Anthea wasn’t even her real name after all. He didn’t even know it.

A moment later and John was walking through the door. His limp less pronounced now than it was when he had walked into the room earlier. Psychosomatic. “Hello, Sherlock.”

“Hello, John. Enjoying your party?” Sherlock loved to watch that flush rise up on the man’s cheeks. He’d only known him hours and he already did? Really? This was new. And maybe a bit not good.

“It is a bit crazy, isn’t it? Want to talk for a bit?” John was doing that lip biting thing again and it was just about to drive Sherlock up the wall.

“Sure, join me?” Sherlock motioned with a tilt of his head the cushion next to him.

“Of course.” Once John had sat down Sherlock positioned himself to be facing toward the man. “So how did you know? You said you observed. Observed what?”

Now this was a game Sherlock could play. “Oh, I simply observed you, John. I don’t really know how much I should tell you though considering the prize is no longer in the running.” Sherlock made a throwaway gesture with his hand only to have it be caught in the grip of John’s hands.

“Wait! That’s not fair! You never said it depended on the rose! I wanted to give it to you…” John stopped talking after that, he knew he probably shouldn’t have said it. He was just making things awkward. He hadn’t even let go of Sherlock’s hand yet. He tried to now, about to get up and leave.

“You did?” Sherlock asked. Not allowing the other man the chance to take his hand back. Okay, so maybe there were a few exceptions to the rule of hating being touched. He didn’t mind having John hold his hand anyway.   

“Yeah, I did.” John spoke.

“Your tan lines. Clearly you’ve been abroad, but not sunbathing because you have no tan above the wrist and you’ve been invalided home because obviously you’ve been injured. That much was clear. So Afghanistan or Iraq. And your limp it’s definitely psychosomatic because you forget about it when you’re standing and it’s only really bad at certain times. Plus that intermittent tremor in your left hand forget about it. It’s because you were doing nothing with your days and you were used to working on patients and saving lives. Get back to that and it’ll be gone. Also you have a therapist. Don’t deny it, you’ve got a psychosomatic limp, of course you’ve got a therapist.” Sherlock just talked. He didn’t recognize the sentiment in the statement John had made.

“That was amazing. That was really amazing.” John’s jaw was still somewhere near the floor.

“That’s not what people normally say.” Sherlock was more than a bit shocked. This was probably the best anyone had reacted to him deducing them ever.

“What do people normally say?” John had to ask. He really did.

“Piss off.” That sent John laughing and Sherlock couldn’t help a small smile at that as well.

“So is this what you do? Do you use this skill in your life?” John asked a few minutes later.

 “I’m a consulting detective, the only one in the world, I invented the job. So when the police are out of their depth, which is always, they consult me.” Sherlock was very proud of this fact. He had created this fact about himself and the world.

“The police don’t consult amateurs.” John scoffed.

“True, they don’t. I’m not an amateur. Ask me something you know about someone in that room, something you know the answer to. I’ll get it right.” Sherlock was confident in this.

“Okay… What is Sarah’s job?” John started off.

Sherlock’s low chuckle sent chills down John’s spine that settled a heat low in his abdomen. Oh this man was a dangerous one his voice was already fantasy worthy, but his laugh was like sin. “Oh, John, now that’s too easy. Doctor.”

“How did you- Okay! Does Elizabeth have any kids?” John almost refused to look at the man. This time Sherlock took a drink of champagne before answering though and that long neck was a very tempting sight. He couldn’t help it.

“All together to easy once again. Yes, she does. One sweet little four year old. And before you ask, that four year old is a girl.” Sherlock felt more relaxed than he had been all night. This was his very particular area of expertise.

 “You have exceeded all expectations Mr. Holmes. Obviously you are no amateur. I concede defeat.” John was smiling as well so he clearly wasn’t upset, so that was a good sign.

“I accept.” They clinked glasses in a toast. And then it was just a comfortable silence.

 “Well as much as I really don’t want to I should probably go finish my rounds.” John said and started to get up, leaning in to his cane.

 “Of course, I will see you at the ceremony then. Cheers.”  Sherlock stayed where he was for the rest of the party until the rose ceremony was called to begin.

All thirty contestants were called to attend and then were lined up with three rows of five men to the left and three rows of five women to the right. The host was standing at the front next to a large bunch of roses.

“Ladies and gentlemen. The rose ceremony is about to begin. Sarah you are safe with the first impression rose. There are nineteen roses left to hand out. Five men and five women will be going home tonight. John, whenever you’re ready.” The host moved off to the side as John stepped forward to take his place.

John took a deep breath when he was up there. He reached out and picked up the first rose.

“Kathleen, Amy, Kevin, Mason, Derek, Elizabeth, Mary, Anthea, Spencer, Ian, Sebastian, Joseph, Ben, Veronica, Kayla, Ryan, Marissa, Amanda”

After each name the person would come up and John would ask them if they would accept the rose. The answer would always be yes. Towards the end of the list Sherlock was starting to wonder if John was actually going to ask him to stay or not.

Sherlock honestly thought they had gotten on better than could be expected considering the circumstances. It would be rather pitiful if Sherlock had actually tried and he couldn’t even make it past round one. Damn it, Mycroft would never let him live past it. Let alone any of the Scotland yarders.

“This is the final rose tonight. John, when you’re ready.” Marcus was on and off screen in just a moment.

“Sherlock.” It took a moment, but it did finally register.

He walked up there and John was holding that rose and a lovely little bit of mischievous glee hidden there in his eyes. Oh! This was his plan. Well, two could play that.

Sherlock took a light hold of the rose, right where John was also holding it. When John asked him, “Sherlock, will you accept this rose?” Sherlock leaned forward so that he could whisper in John’s ear.

“Saving the best for last, John? How cliché…” He let his lips trail across John’s cheek as he leaned back out and spoke louder. “Yes, I rather think I will.”

John may have miscalculated that move a bit. Okay, a lot. Now he has stuck having to say goodbye to people he barely knew feeling more turned on than he had in just about forever. Sherlock called him on his bluff and made him pay for it, but damn would he do it again in a heartbeat.   


	4. Week One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> John goes on his first round of dates. He starts narrowing things down on who all he likes and wants to keep around. 
> 
> Please read, enjoy, and review!! :)

“John!” John woke up to the sound of someone banging on his room door. Obviously they had been at it for a while at the annoyed sound in their voice. The stupid cocktail party and rose ceremony had lasted well into the night and he had crashed into his bed close to four in the morning.

He pawed around for the alarm clock on his bedside table without ever opening his eyes. Once he found it he only peeked open one eye and squinted at the time. 9:23. Great, almost a whole five and a half hours of sleep. This was a great start to the day. And he was more than sure his week was just going to get all the better for it. He had two one-on-one dates and then a group date to go on and then another cocktail party and a rose ceremony sometime this week. All to be repeated next week.

He groaned and flopped back on his bed. What the hell did he sign up for? The he remembered the mischievous light in Sherlock’s eyes when he stood before him holding that rose like a trophy and thought that maybe some of this torturous show might be worth it.

John finally slid himself off his bed as the banging on his door took up again and he walked over to answer it. Megan and Lucas walked in followed closely by Marcus. “Please, come on in…” John muttered under his breath. He closed the door once more after he was sure no one else planned on barging into his room.

“So John! We three are here to talk about this first week of dates. So we have two one-on-one dates and then you have a group date. We would like you to be able to have one of each of the one-on-one dates with a man and a woman. Unless you object to that of course.” Lucas explained.

“No, that sounds perfectly reasonable” John said as he moved to sit down as the small table in his room. He motioned for them all to sit as well. There was four chairs so they might as well.

“This is where we might hit the part that you may disagree with. So I know you don’t want to follow what we want you to do so much as your own gut instinct as who you want to give roses to and all that.” This part Lucas said slower as though waiting for John to get what he meant. He really had no idea though. So Lucas was going to have to spell it out for him.

“We often do polls of what people, viewers, would respond to and all of that. We do these types of things you know for pretty much any television show. From our raw data most people would like to see you out on a one-on-one date with either Kathleen or Mary for a girl and a guy either Spencer or Mason at this point.” Lucas was at this point explaining only to try and placate the man. More often than not the bachelors that they get are in it more for the fame and the free access to beautiful women than actually caring about doing this whole thing right as John was.

“Right. Okay. And if I play it your way, can I actually pick what we do on the three dates this week and who goes on the group. It’s going to be what twelve and some competition thing and six stay and six go right? Harry explained some to me before I came here.” John bargained.

“Yes, of course. That would make our jobs infinitely easier this week! You have no idea.” Lucas exclaimed.

“Fine, so Kathleen for the woman. It’ll be the London eye and one of those paint shop things with the wine. She’s a teacher, I think she’ll get a kick out of it. Then Mason for the guy. He’s a photographer, he probably doesn’t get much adrenaline, so something like skydiving. Or something I can still do with a limp. As for the group date I want Sherlock, Sarah, Mary, Anthea, Spencer, Ben, Derek, Elizabeth, Veronica, Amy, Marissa, and Ryan. I want them to come to the Savoy Theater and then we’ll have a competition to see who knows their competition the best. The best six remain and then we go to the hotel across the street that has the roof top pool and have dinner and drinks and have a good night.” John said. He was staying firm on these speculations. He was giving them what they wanted so they would work with the parameters that he gave them. That was the end of it.

“Okay John. We can work with that.” Lucas glanced over at Megan who gave a curt nod which of course meant that she had gotten everything written down on that lovely little notepad of hers.

“You can have the date cards say whatever cheesy line you guys like. I’m not all together good at that. I’m guessing that’s where you come in right Marcus?” John was completely guessing. It did make sense though, as the man had said nothing so far in this entire meeting he had to be there for some reason.

“Yeah, that is usually my job. So, I was thinking maybe something like ‘Paint me a picture of love’ for Kathleen. Super cheesy. That’s how it goes though.” Marcus started off.

John really couldn’t help it. He just started laughing. It was probably worse than the one liners that he and his army friends had used when they had managed to get some free time and gone to a bar. It was terrible. He was even sure that Megan and Lucas cracked a couple of smiles.

“Right well if you think that’s bad wait until you hear this one. For Mason all I can think of is… ‘Let’s get out hearts pounding.’” Marcus even laughed after he said that one so John felt fully justified in breaking out in a full on laughing fit.

“Dear god, all of these people are going to think I’m either the most ridiculous person in the world or the sleaziest.” John finally spoke after he could breathe again.

“Most of them do know that the cards aren’t actually written by you at least. It is pretty common knowledge that the staff comes up with the cards and dates. You are just kind of along for the ride. This is probably the first time a bachelor had this much input on the actual date to be honest.”  Marcus spoke with curiosity in his voice. This was a different kind of man from the ones who had been on this show previously. That wasn’t a bad thing though, far from it.

“Yes, well I would like to keep that up. If they don’t like my ideas of dates then they won’t really be dating me will they? So what’s the line for the last one?” John asked moving past the topic completely.

“Hmm. I was thinking ‘Let’s see which apples don’t fall far from the tree.”” Marcus said. This time there was no crazy laughter. That one was actually not too bad or terribly filled with innuendo.

“Right! So today is the planning day. Tomorrow you’ll have your date with Kathleen, then you’ll have the group date two days later. The day after is the date with Mason. Then two days later is the cocktail party and the rose ceremony again. That’s basically every week’s schedule. The date formula might change based on how many people you have left, but that’s it.” Lucas broke in.

“Sounds exhausting, but tolerable.” John managed to say. Exhausting really was the right of it. Some of these dates he wasn’t sure how he was going to make it through them. Especially when he wasn’t sure if he really wanted to be there spending time with those people or not. Kathleen seemed nice enough, but Mason? John was uncertain on that one. He was attractive, very much so, but his personality wasn’t exactly the best of the best.  

“Good! That’s great! All right! So one last bit. We have your cell phone for you. We made sure to be able to trace anything that leaves this area so if you send any outgoing texts or calls then we’ll know who they go to and what they say. So please only contact your sister about her rehab okay?” Lucas handed over John’s phone which he greedily snapped up.

“That’s all I want to know anyway. No worries there! I do want to be able to text my mum about he rehab though. I don’t necessarily trust her to be honest about it.” John explained.

“Okay, we’ll extend it to your mother’s number as well. Remember though just keep it to the topic of your sister.” Lucas was more lenient with this man than he has been with any of the previous bachelors that had been in this position. He hadn’t allowed any of the other men a phone before. Though, none of those men where as honest looking as John Watson was.

“Thanks, all of you. This is important to me.” John turned on the phone and shot off a quick text.

_Told you I’d keep in touch. How’s the alcohol levels? – JW_

**Oh, sod of with the signing of the texts I’m still sober, you idiot.**

_And as happy as ever it seems. – JW_

**Of course. I would be happier if you told me who to bet on though. I could make a hell of a pay day.**

_Take a wild guess just like everyone else, Harry. Sorry, no spoilers from me. It would be against policy. – JW_

**OI! What about family loyalty?**

_You know me better than most, watch the show and take a guess. You’ll figure it out. – JW_

Lucas had gotten alerts at all of the messages that John had sent and received. None of them had broken any of the rules and he had actually been pretty amused at the interaction between the siblings.

“Thanks for this, again.” John repeated after he had finished texting Harry. All three of them had just sat there as he had conversed with her.

“Anytime, John. Now I’d suggest resting up. This is probably going to be the only day this week you have to enjoy laying around.” Lucas stood followed closely by Megan and Marcus and the three of them made their way out of the room.

John went back to his bed and laid back down, but he was quick to realize that he wasn’t going to be able to go back to sleep. He did the next best thing and pulled out his computer. He wasn’t allowed to connect to the internet, but he was allowed to connect to his blog and his life might have just gotten interesting enough to start writing about.

 

On the other side of the manor house Anthea was easily fitting in. She was learning all of the gossip from the girls. She was flitting from one girl to the next hearing a tale of lost virginity and heartbreak to a tale of accidental pregnancy in one moment to the next. It was all just so mundane. It was easily normal everyday gossip. It wasn’t exactly a monarch using a dominatrix level gossip. Which was a lot more worthy and a lot more interesting than hearing about how Marissa liked to sleep with her agents to get her better jobs. Or how Amanda used her body to get what she wanted in pretty much any and all situations. She had much better uses for her intelligence gathering than this. Mary! She needed to get to Mary!

“Can you believe some of this stuff?” Anthea asked Amy. It was a ploy of course. She couldn’t out right ask Mary that would be too obvious. So she asked Amy who was standing next to Mary.

“I know. Some of it is rather mad isn’t it?” Amy spoke. Her voice is soft. She doesn’t want the other girls to hear her.

“Yes! Exactly. Realistically I knew that some people had to have done those things, but seriously to just openly admit it all… Didn’t one of them say that one of the men was over three hundred pounds?” Anthea put the suitable amount of shock into her voice.

Amy had been holing a glass of water and been about to take a sip when she started to laugh. Mary who had also been listening in also started to laugh into her drink. It was a rather outrageous image that was created with that one.

“Seriously, I think we could have all been spared the details of that one.” Mary spoke for the first time.

“I wish. Now I can’t seem to get the image out of my head.” Anthea let the shudder of disgust roll through her outwardly so as to be seen by the other women. She let herself glance over at Mary now that she had finished speaking and pretending to just now notice the woman’s lovely ruby earrings, complimented them.

“Oh! Those earrings are amazing! My mother used to have a pair of real ruby earrings. She absolutely adored then. Where in the world did you find them?” Anthea exclaimed. Her excitement was all genuine. She made sure of it.

“What, these? I’ve had them for a while now. I can’t really remember. Probably just a jeweler in central London that’s where I usually shop anyway.” Mary’s answer was all calm nonchalance, but Anthea wasn’t buying it. Not completely anyway. Sherlock was right, a nurse doesn’t just wear real rubies as an everyday affair.

“Well either way I need to go there. My mum would absolutely have a fit if I showed up for her birthday with a pair of those as a present for her.” Anthea smile big and wide as most any child would about surprising their parents.

She definitely planned to keep a close eye on Mary Morstan.

 

Across the hall on the men’s side a much different atmosphere was brewing. Sherlock was so disgustingly bored. He had already deduced everything there was about all of the men that were here. What else was there to do? There were no cases here except the one of finding the killer, but there were no bodies so he didn’t actually have much to go on at the moment. He didn’t have anything to experiment with. And as far as pretty much everyone was concerned, maybe except for John, his deductions were something to keep to himself.

Ryan, Derek, Mason, Joseph, Sebastian and Ian were all watch some pointless sports show on television and Sherlock rather wanted to shoot or stab one of them himself if it would take away the boredom.

Spencer and Ben had just walked in from the pool area outside and they were chatting amiably about stocks, also boring, though at least more intellectually stimulating then the men on the couch. “Sherlock up for a game of chess?” Spencer offered him.

“Finally. Someone moderately more interesting than a grunting Neanderthal.” Sherlock tossed himself out of the chair and across the room towards the chess board.

He and Spencer played a few rounds of chess. Though moderately stimulating for the mind it still wasn’t all that difficult to predict what moves Spencer was going to make when. So Sherlock still came out to be the victor almost always. The one time he didn’t was when he felt a small silent vibrate from the very slim phone in his pocket. This caused him to be distracted the rest of that game.

Later that night was the first time he was able to check the phone and it was a very simple message. Sherlock thought it didn’t need a reply so he just read it and deleted it. She would have already informed Mycroft.

**On point with Mary. Watching her closely. – A**

The next morning all of the contestants were called to a large open room with three large couches, a few comfortable chairs, a tables, a large TV, and pretty much anything else that could be needed.

“Hello ladies and gentleman. So as you all know this year is a little different than most. We’ve had to put the two groups in separate sleeping areas, so that has limited your interaction with each other. We would actually like to remedy this situation with something of a common room for you all.” Their host was explaining to them. Sherlock had deduced that as soon as they had walked in.

Anthea was cozying up to a few of the more attractive men as the other women were. So Sherlock figured this would be his chance to talk to the women. It was supposed to be his job after all. He walked over to Kathleen, luckily she was standing there talking to Mary.

“Hello.” He broke in to their conversation.

“Oh, hello, Sherlock. Mary, this is Sherlock.” They shook hands and exchanged pleasantries.

“How are you liking the idea of the new common room?” Kathleen asked amusement in her eyes.

“Not nearly as much as I’m sure others are. I’d rather not be attacked by a mob again, thank you.” Sherlock pasted a grimace on his face to make sure that at the very least one of them would keep the conversation going.

“It was rather terrible, wasn’t it?” Kathleen commented.

“Wait, what happened?” Mary spoke with some curiosity.

“Oh, you know those four…” She motioned with her hands. “Well they were basically climbing all over him at the first cocktail party. It was all a big scene. He was clearly uncomfortable with it all.”

“Mmm. I think I would much rather be stabbed in the heart, than be left at their tender mercies again.” Sherlock spoke adding just a bit of drama to his voice to it could be played off if needed.

“Oh, hush! You are so dramatic!” Kathleen smacked him on the shoulder and went in to quiet giggles. A few moments later Mary joined her, but those few moments were telling. She knew something. And she wasn’t the perfect actress. A good one, yes. But perfect? Not even close.

After they had all gotten settled into their new common room their host had come back with their first date card from what Sherlock had learned about the show it was going to be a one-on-one date. Anthea had jumped up and grabbed it. She was using all of her skills to fit in and she was doing so beautifully.

“Kathleen, Let’s paint a picture of love. – John.”  As soon as she was done speaking the room burst into loud noise and chatter. Anthea handed the date card over to Kathleen who bounded up and had a large smile on her face.

Everyone was trying to figure out what the meaning behind the words were. And Kathleen was just off to get ready. John showed up a few moments later to pick up Kathleen and he stayed and chatted with them all until she was ready. He talked to them all just like they were friends, but every time he looked in Sherlock’s direction he seemed to redden in the cheeks just a bit. Soon she was back down in a pretty sun dress and a light cardigan with strappy sandals. 

 

John took her hand and then they were off for their date. They were in one of the cars that the studio had for their use on these kinds of local dates. They took it to the London Eye and John got out first and held the door open for her.

“Oh! John!” Kathleen exclaimed.

“I know you mentioned before that you don’t make all that much as a teacher. So I wanted to take you someplace special that you might not get to experience otherwise.” John said to her.

“This is going to be so amazing. I’ve always wanted to come here. I’ve walked past so many times, but never dreamed of actually doing it.” Kathleen held tighter to John’s left hand as his right still held his cane.

They walked right up to the front which had been completely sectioned off for them. An entire capsule had been reserved for them alone. They would be eating dinner up here as they floated around and watched London pass by. Once they were closed in they made their way to their chairs that already had steaming plates of food in front of them. 

They both sat for a moment just taking in their surroundings as they started to rise off the ground level. “I really never did think I would ever be here.” Kathleen spoke again.

“To be honest, neither did I. On this show, or on the London Eye.” John replied.

“Really? But you’re so handsome and very accomplished,” here she paused as she blushed at her own words. “You are a natural fit for the position.”

Now it was John’s turn to blush a bit. He wasn’t exactly used to beautiful women complimenting him at random. He cleared his throat before he made a reply. ”Well, thank you. I do hope I’m not letting anyone down since I’m not exactly in perfect condition and all of that.”

“Oh, John. Not at all. That would never have any bearing on anything. Half the women anyway, already fancy themselves in love with you, as is.” Kathleen spoke bluntly.

John knew he must have had some kind of shocked and panicked look written all across his face. Kathleen held it together for another minute while John’s panic increased exponentially before she broke out laughing.

“John! Your face! Oh, it was just too priceless! I’m sorry, but I just couldn’t help it. I had to.” Kathleen was still laughing so hard that she was almost to the point of tears that John couldn’t help but join in. That was when he actually started to relax and enjoy his time with her.

They chatted the entire time through dinner about their lived and siblings. While John had Harry, Kathleen had a younger brother named Nathan. He was six years younger and he still lived with their parents because he was born with Down syndrome. When that became apparent Kathleen had made it her goal in life to become a teacher.

When they had gotten off the eye they went to a small little studio where it was just the two of them and a teacher. They each got and easel and they were supposed to paint a starry night with a tree of some sort. John actually had no idea how this was supposed to go. But there was wine involved so that was supposed to help.  

After the first couple of seconds he realized he was absolute rubbish at this and Kathleen was actually rather good at it. “Oh, but come on! You can’t tell me you’ve never done this before and then make a perfect swirly thing on the first go!” John was laughing and pointing out the vast difference between their swirl attempts.

“Well John maybe I’m just mort artistic than you.” Kathleen spoke and made another perfect swirl.

“Well, that is clearly a given.” After all the swirls were filled in, they started in on the yellow and white of the stars. This jabbing type of technique was something John actually managed a bit better than the swirls.

“See, John! You can totally do this!” Kathleen cackled at him and his considerable focus.

“Hush, you! Maybe you are too sober for this. Aren’t people supposed to be drunk when they do this so no one can criticize others?” John laughed at her.

The next part was the tree that overlaid the swirls and the stars. This part seems to be the undoing of both of them. They each seemed to want to make the trunk either too wide or too narrow and then they seemed to have branches sticking out at awkward angles and curving at weird places.

The two of them ended up laughing and paint smeared by the end of it all. They both had lovely starry nights with some very strange looking trees. John managed to snatch the rose off of the counter as they passed by it. Kathleen was still talking about how much fun she had had and how thoughtful John was about the date.

“Kathleen, I’m really glad that you had fun tonight. I think you are an amazing person and I would really like to get to know you better. Would you accept this rose?” John held the rose out toward her hoping that she would say yes.

“Of course, John. I would love to.” Kathleen responded. They were taken back to the manor house by the same car that had taken them out. They held hands on the way back and it was a very comfortable ride.

 

Sherlock was going to go insane. He had managed to send a text to Anthea the other night about Mary’s hesitation on the stabbing quip. And had only gotten a reply in the form of a message received and relayed.  On days when a date card was expected he had to be seen in the common area which meant no hiding in his room. Also, as his current job was locating a killer hiding amongst the cast or crew his best chance at it was being around said cast or crew he wasn’t exactly able to hide in his room anyway. Which was annoying him to no end.

Today was a date card day. So at least things would liven up a little. He assumed a group date since the last was a solo one. As soon as the door opened and the host stepped inside almost everyone stopped what they were doing.

“Hello, I’ll just leave this here for you shall I?” He dropped the card on the coffee table and left the room. Since Kathleen had already had a date and a rose she grabbed the card to read it.

“Sherlock, Sarah, Mary, Anthea, Spencer, Ben, Derek, Elizabeth, Veronica, Amy, Marissa, and Ryan let’s see which apples don’t fall far from the tree. – John.” Kathleen spoke happily, of course she did, she was safe.

“Sounds like a competition ladies and gents. Be prepared to lose.” Ryan stated cockily.

Everyone went to get ready, Sherlock stayed. He was constantly dressed for the occasion. It’s not as though they would be going to a farm or something this go around. What he was currently dressed in was more than fine for a smarts competition.

John showed up and they only had to wait on a few of the girls to finish getting ready. He sat right next to Sherlock the entire time. He could feel the heat coming off of John as they were so close to touching. Sherlock knew that this date was catered to be for him to win. He had shown off for John at the first cocktail party. He had told the man what he could do and now there was this date, a competition geared toward knowledge. How could it not be? At least some part of Sherlock was hoping so anyway.

Finally when Veronica and Marissa made their way down everyone was finally there and ready to go. They all piled into two limos Sherlock of course made sure to be in the same one that John was and so did Anthea. She was of course watching Sherlock very closely. Sherlock was certain that she had more than one idea about his behavior that she would be passing along to Mycroft shortly.

After traveling a while they stopped in front of the Savoy Theater. They all piled out staring up at the massive building. It was one of the many that Sherlock had been to of course. He had been to pretty much everywhere in London. He knew every street and back alley.

They walked inside and the lights came on in a moment of pure drama. It was gorgeous and of course empty just for them. Oh, Sherlock could imagine it, standing on that stage, commanding the attention of the full audience with his violin. 

“Okay! So here is the challenge. The test is to see how well you know one another. And me of course. So pick up a white board and stand up on the stage, please!” John announced. Yes, this challenge was definitely made for him to win. Sherlock allowed himself a small smile as he picked up a white board. He stood on the stage on the end of the row to the left of Anthea.

“It will all be one word or a number to answer to any of the questions. All right? And all of them will only be focused on the people here. They are all things that you all should have no problem admitting to right now because I will have you answer or raise your hands before anyone shows their boards. Understand?” When everyone nodded John pulled out notecards from his pocket.

“Question one: how many of you play a musical instrument?”

Sherlock took a moment and studied them then wrote a five. Mary had to play the piano, Anthea obviously, Elizabeth clearly had in school, and Spencer played the saxophone if he was correct and himself.

“Raise your hands if you do.” John called out. “So that makes five then. Turn around your boards! Sherlock and Anthea guessed right! And Mary too! Amy was a close second followed by Ben!”

“Question two: Where did I serve in the Army?” John asked.

This time Sherlock could honestly not even keep the smile from his face at remembering their first meeting and his pretty abysmal attempt at flirting through deduction, though, maybe it was working on John if he planned this date so that he could win time with Sherlock.

“I served in Afghanistan.” John said before having them turn around their boards. This time Sherlock and Anthea both got it right and then Spencer and Elizabeth clearly on lucky guesses.

“Question three: including me how many of us played sports in school?”

Sherlock thought on it. He and Anthea had not. Ryan had for sure. John had of course. Veronica had, volleyball. Derek had, he was a footballer. So four.  

When asked to raise hands he was glad to see he was right once again when the four had raised their hands. Derek and Ryan had both gotten this question right as well.

“Question four: Which sport did I play at school?”

Sherlock raised his eyebrow at John. _Is this another test?_ He was silently asking him. John had never told him this information, but he had probably told a number of the others. Sherlock was certain that it had been rugby though, so he wasn’t overly concerned. Once everyone finished writing and looked up John was finally ready to announce the answer.

“I played rugby.” When he asked everyone to turn over their boards only Ryan and Marissa had gotten it wrong. “Well it looks like most of you were listening.” John let out a chuckle.

“So question five: Do I have a therapist?”

Sherlock once again could barely suppress his urge to smile. He wrote a scrawling yes across the whiteboard and waited.

“I’ve got a psychosomatic limp. Of course I’ve got a therapist.” John laughed and this time Sherlock let the smile just happen. He really couldn’t help it. John was being so nice about his deductions. He was even turning it all into a fun date for him. That was completely unheard of. Sherlock, Anthea, Mary, Amy, Ben, Derek, and Spencer had all gotten that one right.

“Question six: how many of you have siblings?”

Hmm this one was tough. Sherlock did. Anthea didn’t. Mary was a no, Amy and Sarah were out. Elizabeth and Derek did. Veronica did. And Spencer did. So that was five. Everyone raised their hands when they were called and they turned their boards around once again. Only Sherlock had guessed right this time. Even Anthea had been off by one.

“Question seven: how many of you have gone skinny dipping?” Everyone kind of gasped and moved around at the news. It was a bit shocking to be asked so bluntly. But Sherlock just started observing. It was very telling.

Anthea, obvious, yes, for a job. Ryan, Marissa, Veronica, all yes, they were terrible people. Spencer and Ben hadn’t. Amy, Mary, and Sarah all yes. They were blushing. Derek had. He was twitching. Elizabeth had, she was nervous about admitting it. He had, it was just as obvious as Anthea.  So, a total of ten.

When everyone raised their hands almost everyone was shocked. Mostly because of him he would have guessed. People always assume he doesn’t do things that are sexual, he doesn’t really understand why. Just because he has more self-control than others doesn’t mean he doesn’t enjoy pleasures.

John had to clear his throat before he spoke again “Right. Question eight: how many of you have traveled overseas?”

Sherlock thought once again. He and Anthea were two already. Spencer and Derek were another two. Ryan and Marissa were two more, both being in modelling. Mary was another. Ben and Amy were another two that would have to go on the list. There was just something about the way they were reacting to the question that made them seem to be confident in the answer. So, nine. Hands were raised and nine was the total.

“Question nine: how many of you graduated university?”

Sherlock and Anthea were a given. Mary and Sarah were clearly. Spencer of course. Derek. Ben probably had.  So, a total of seven.  The numbers were given and it came out to seven.

“Final question: and this is really just a joke one the show wanted me to throw in. so put what you like. What would you text me to get me to come home from work early?”

Almost all of the boards were filled with something similar to the message of ‘it’ll be worth it’ or ‘I’ll make it worth your while.’ Even Anthea’s. Then he got to Sherlock’s and he just cracked up. ‘Could be dangerous. – SH’

“I’d definitely come home for that.” John whispered to Sherlock. It was really really hard for him to keep himself in check with this man. Sherlock had never felt anything even close to resembling this.

“Okay! So I think from the tally over here the six with the most points would be Sherlock, Anthea, Mary, Amy, Ben, and Spencer.” John had a small happy smile on his face. He then let it fade to a small frown before speaking again. “Sorry guys, but that means that for the rest of you, the date ends here.”

There was a lot of complaints about that from the six that had to return to the manor in one of the limos that still sat out front. Once the others had left John led the remaining six across the street to the nice hotel rooftop pool and lounge area that had been reserved for their use.

There were changing rooms for everyone and there was everyone’s personal swimming attire. Sherlock wasn’t self-conscious exactly, but he was aware that he wasn’t exactly what anyone would consider classically handsome. He changed anyway though he did slide the robe that was provided on overtop and tied it closed. As he exited the rooms he noticed that most everyone else had put on the robes but had left them open over their suits. Sherlock already felt awkward. This really wasn’t his area. How was he supposed to compete in this type of thing when everyone else was actually good at it?

John was standing at the far side of the pool having already changed and made it back over there. He at least had tied the robe closed as well. Sherlock studied him a moment, then he deduced it. A scar from his original injury. It had to be. John was very in shape from his days in the army, he had no reason to be self-conscious about his body otherwise. The only logical conclusion, especially due to the limp being psychosomatic was the original injury was a traumatic one, he was probably shot. That would definitely leave a scar.

“Grab some wine and enjoy the pool and hot tub. We have the roof for the night.” John spoke as soon as they were all lined up. Everyone immediately moved to do as he had said, Sherlock was a little slower than the rest and Anthea lagged a bit behind as well. He knew that she had something she wanted to say.

“Sherlock, you are here for a case, but I’d say it’s rather safe to rule out John. So he’s fair game if you’d actually want to try for him for real.” Anthea’s voice was soft. She spoke as though she cared for him. She had dealt with him more often than any other of Mycroft’s people. Sherlock tried for a reply, but he just ended up stuttering and blushing like a mad man. Anthea just flashed him a smug smile and walked past him to pick up a glass of wine and moved to join a conversation with Amy, Ben and Mary.

Sherlock was the last to grab wine, but once he had he hesitantly moved to join the conversation that Spencer and John. “Hey, we were actually just talking about you.” John spoke before Sherlock even had the chance to come up with a reason to interject.

Sherlock raised an eyebrow and tried not to look as absolutely relieved as he felt. “Really? And what have I done that has raised such interest?”

“Well, you got every single question right, for a start.” Spencer said and laughed. He was shaking his head as he said so as if he still couldn’t believe it. “How did you do that by the way? It isn’t as though you have talked the information out of us all like Anthea did.”

“I observed you all while we were there. Your reactions to the questions as much as your everyday actions in the house gave me the answers.”  Sherlock answered quickly. John just stood there smiling. He was letting Sherlock answer. John knew he couldn’t tell any of the other contestants openly that he knew that Sherlock could do what he did.

“How? It’s not like it was things that were openly stated like our jobs or something that would be at least easier to guess.” Spencer still seemed insistent.

“I don’t guess. It’s what I do. I even have a website about it. The science of deduction. I can even identify a software designer by his tie and an airline pilot by his left thumb.” Sherlock stated to make his point.

Spencer seemed to be very much impressed by it all. “You’re not serious.” John said. He had a smile on his face and that same glint in his eyes that had been there when John had been messing with him at the first rose ceremony.

“Oh, deadly, John.” His voice was filled with a dry humor as he lifted his glass of wine to his lips and took a slow sip while staring at John.

At that moment it seemed that the girls had decided that the pool was a grand idea and so they all took their robes off and distracted John’s attention away from Sherlock, which he found oddly annoying. The girls all got in the pool and the men all stood there feeling slightly awkward. The women were calling for John to join them, but he was of course, self-conscious about his scar and not going to be the first to go. Luckily for Sherlock, Ben and Spencer weren’t the men of the house that were the type to have a perfect physique.

Spencer had gravitated a bit farther away so Sherlock felt okay whispering to John at this point. “Are you self-conscious because of your bullet wound?”

John blushed a bright red. “Yeah, how’d you know?”

“Well it’s the only logical reason someone looking like you do would tie up their robe now isn’t it?” Sherlock blushed as soon as the words came out of his mouth, he hadn’t really meant to say all that.

“Oh, well, thank you.” John muttered and then cleared his throat. “How’d you know it was a bullet wound? Lucky guess?”

“I never guess, John. Left shoulder.” Sherlock took a wild stab at it. He was really hoping he was right.

“Yeah you’re right, but you totally guessed, you idiot.” John had a great big smile on his face when he said that. Sherlock usually took great exception to being called an idiot, but somehow it felt a lot different coming from John. “Also, what’s your excuse then? You have your robe tied and you’re bloody gorgeous.”

Sherlock knew he flushed bright red. He looked away for a few moments to breathe and pull himself together. No one had really called him gorgeous before. Some people may have thought him so, but usually only until he had opened his mouth and then they had stopped believing him to be so. John said this after having known him, which meant so much more.

“So, would you be willing to join me if I go first then?” Sherlock ventured once he felt like his voice wouldn’t break anymore.

“Yeah, I – Yeah, I’ll join you.” John said, his voice husky. The idea of seeing more of Sherlock’s skin was hypnotic.

Sherlock gave John a nod, more for himself than for John at this point. He moved to a chair and gracefully removed his robe and laid it over the chair. When Sherlock turned back all of their eyes were on him, not just John’s. Sherlock braced himself and made his way toward the pool and walked down the steps into the heated water. He could feel their gazes wander over him. He knew John was still watching him. John’s gaze was the only that made him feel heated, But even Anthea was watching him with a bit of lust in her eyes.

Sherlock knew that he was good looking, from the way Molly looked at him and how he got looks across London from people who didn’t know him, but he had never been in a situation like this one. John on the other hand thought he was about to make a great big fool of himself standing there with his mouth hanging open. He watched Sherlock take the robe off and reveal that perfect skin and he just stared. His eyes followed Sherlock’s path as he walked to the pool and got in. As soon as the water was up to his chest the spell over him was broken to the point where he was actually able to look around again.

John saw that he wasn’t the only one to have noticed Sherlock while he was shirtless. Everyone else had noticed him as well. All of them. The men and the women were all watching Sherlock, eyes riveted on his pale, lithe form, and John felt a bitter spike of jealousy flow through him. Sherlock was here for John, and all of the rest of them were supposed to be here for John, not for Sherlock. So, none of them should be looking at him like that, not with that much lust in their eyes. As John had said, he was gorgeous, ridiculously so. John made himself move now, he removed his own robe without even thinking about the scar and came to the edge of the pool.

He joined Sherlock in the water just a moment later. The man was standing there as calm as can be when John was just about losing it. Once he was in front if Sherlock everything about the scar came back to him and all of his original self-conscious issues were back in the front of his mind.

“Stop worrying about it, John. Scars tell a story, but they don’t mar beauty, they show strength.” Sherlock’s hands itched to reach out and trail over the scar on John’s shoulder. It was beautiful, just as John was. He wanted to touch it and learn it just as he wanted to learn every inch of John’s skin. It was a strange desire and he was completely unaccustomed to it.

John got called away by Amy and then spent some time with each of the girls one by one. Of course they all wanted alone time with him that was the whole point of it all. Sherlock was so uncertain of it all. He had no idea how he was supposed to be feeling. This was all so new. Sure he wasn’t completely inexperienced, but none of his experiences had ever involved feelings of any kind.

Spencer and Ben had finally joined them all in the pool as well. After Anthea had had her alone time with John she had come over to talk to Sherlock. “Are you all right?”

“I’m fine.” Was his response that didn’t even sound convincing to his own ears.

 “Just so you know, caring is not a disadvantage, Sherlock, no matter what you may have been told. You’ll have no competition from me, I promise you that. Though you do have my every blessing. However, if he hurts you I will have to make sure his remains are never found.” Anthea was deadly, Sherlock knew this was no idle threat from her. He felt very fond of her in that moment and he couldn’t keep a laugh from bubbling out of him. She had timed it perfectly when none of the cameras were anywhere near them of course. She would never let that kind of statement get caught on tape.

John had been talking with Ben about how he had decided to brave things to be an entrepreneur when he had heard Sherlock laugh out. Somehow it was like he was drawn to it. He quickly rounded down his conversation with Ben and made his way over to Sherlock. He had saved their conversation until last. He had purposefully done that so that then no one would have any valid reason for interrupting them.

“Sherlock, want to talk with me?” He asked once he made his way over.

“Of course. Want to sit over there?” Sherlock asked and gestured to the comfortable outside couch that was in the corner of the rooftop.    

They climbed out of the pool and once again John just about lost it. Sherlock’s dry skin made him stare with unchecked want, but his skin dripping with water was just making his itch to touch and lick that gorgeous skin. It was just about killing him keeping that desire in check. His own skin felt flushed and hot with want.

They put back on their robes to keep out the chill from the wind. John automatically wanted to protest when that delectable skin started to be covered up, but he had no real reason to other than want. He internally cheered when Sherlock left the robe untied. It was a small victory at least.

They sat down on the couch facing each other. “So, John I do have to ask. Was this another test? Or was I supposed to win this date?”

John smiled at Sherlock’s confidence in his own abilities. John looked down a bit, but he couldn’t help the small smile playing on his lips. “Maybe a bit of both?”

“Hmm… I rather like the idea that you came up with this for me.” Sherlock almost hated saying, it felt way too much like sentiment. It was sentiment.

“Yes, well you did exceed my expectations. I thought I would trip you up with the skinny dipping question.” The laugh that John let out was one that he really couldn’t help.

Sherlock, as much as it may pain him to admit it, laughed as well before answering. “On that question I would have had to guess completely if not for everyone’s reactions to the question. Those were as easy to read as anything else. People blushed, shifted, twitched, and made nervous movements. It was all there in their reactions.”

“Really? You are spectacular, Sherlock. Bit surprised about you having been skinny dipping before though.” John’s broad smile turned into something a bit smaller and more intimate. His first statement was a lot more certain that the second one.

“Having trouble picturing it, Doctor Watson? Or having too much fun picturing it?” Before this moment Sherlock would have said that his ability to flirt extended to lying his way through it to get information and that was it. Now he was doing it honestly and enjoying it. He was fairly sure that it was all John’s fault.

“When I was coming up with the questions; I would say the first. As of right now though, definitely the second. God, Sherlock, you really are gorgeous. I don’t know why you would ever want to cover yourself up.” His voice had wonder in it as he spoke to the lithe man opposite him.

“And I don’t know why you would ever want to cover yourself up, John.” Sherlock slowly reached out his hand so John could stop him if he wanted to. Sherlock knew that his intentions were very clear. His fingers reached the edges of the robe that covered his left shoulder and flicked it to the side. He studied the scar once more, quickly, and then slowly traced it with his fingertips. John’s reaction wasn’t surprising. He first stiffened, but then he drew and released a deep breath and managed to relax. Sherlock continued to move his fingertips over the scar until he had covered the whole of it. “You’re gorgeous as well, John.”

That statement got a reaction. This time John drew in a sharp breath, it was almost a hiss in the quiet tension filled space that surrounded them. John drew his gaze up to meet Sherlock’s and then their eyes locked. Once they did they realized how ridiculously close they had gotten. There was only inches between them now. The tension sparked and heightened even more. They could both feel it. Sherlock knew he wasn’t going to make the first move, it really wasn’t his area. John made a helpless noise in the back of his throat and then moved forward the last couple of inches.

Their lips connected and both of their eyes fell closed. Heat rushed through the both of them. It was hard to hold back. Both of them wanted to lunge forward and bury themselves in the kiss and in each other. John felt his heart and his breathing speed up. Sherlock’s lips against his felt absolutely perfect. He reached up and tangled his hand in Sherlock’s wild curls.

Sherlock on the other hand kept his one hand resting lightly against John’s scar without him even becoming self-conscious about it all. And his other hand snaked its way inside of John’s robe to run up and down his right side. It created the lovely effect of John shivering at his touch.

John decided that Sherlock wasn’t the only one who should be having all the fun though and ran his hand inside Sherlock’s robe as payback. When he ran his hand up Sherlock’s side some bit of insanity struck him and he let his hand keep going and he ran his hand over Sherlock’s nipple. At the touch Sherlock gasped and opened his mouth. John took advantage of the moment and licked into the heat of Sherlock’s mouth.

The moment was so completely engrossing. It was intense and all encompassing. They were clinging to each other as their mouths were attached. Their tongues twined around one another for another few moments before John slowly wound down the kiss. God, he didn’t want to. He could spend hours, days, just kissing Sherlock, if the man would let him. However, there were five other people here and camera people that could potentially make it a bit awkward.

The two just sat there a breathed for another moment before trying to talk again. “God, Sherlock. What you do to me. I didn’t plan on kissing anyone so early on you know.”

Sherlock chuckled. “And this is my fault how?”

“Have you seen yourself? Or heard your own voice or laugh? Because I swear you could make a fortune off of it.” John was staring at him. Sherlock noticed that his eyes were still dilated from their earlier kissing and their continued closeness. Sherlock managed to get his hand around to check John’s pulse to feel it hammering against his fingers. This was because of him. This was for him. It was absolutely fascinating and amazing at the same time.

“You know Anthea got almost all the questions right as well. Does she get the same congratulatory kiss?” Sherlock spoke without even thinking about it.

“Jealous?” John’s eyes sparkled a bit at that.

Sherlock let a bit of a smirk play on his lips. “Only when other people want what I do.”

John blushed bright red and coughed at that. “Well, half of me thinks Anthea is really attractive. Then the other half thinks that I should be scared of her because she could kill me for some reason. I’m not sure which I should go with.”

“Hmm I’m reasonably sure you should go with both.” Sherlock was completely indifferent about the Anthea issue because Anthea was not after John at all. Which he was very sure about. He did however have to worry about the other competition and a possible killer.

Sherlock and John had to wrap up their conversation as everyone got out of the pool as their date night ended and the rose on their date was up for grabs. Everyone was grouped up in a lovely, cozy bunch on the couple of couches and then of course John had the rose in his hands.

“So of course the roses are always hard to hand out and with the six of you it is really hard. I like all of you and I really enjoyed having you six be the ones that I spent my time with tonight. I do think that tonight this rose has to go to the winner of the competition tough. Sherlock, will you accept this rose?” John stated. Everyone’s faced all turned to frowns as their names weren’t called. Except for Anthea’s who looked over at Sherlock and gave him a tiny smile.  

“Of course, John.” Sherlock took the rose carefully from his fingers, but he did allow his finger tips to graze over John’s just as they had over John’s scar.

The night wound down from there. They all went back to the manor house in the limo that was left for them and John said goodbye to the group of them and went off to his room. Of course John desperately wanted to kiss the man again, but he didn’t dare to with the rest of them standing right there.

The six of them went off to the shared common room. Everyone was still waiting up for them. They always wanted to hear about the dates and see who got the rose. Everyone seemed surprised when Sherlock walked through the door with the rose. Apparently being called last at the rose ceremony had convinced everyone that Sherlock was going to be the next to go.

They all asked about the date and let Sarah explain how Sherlock and Anthea were basically the best at guessing. No one were really surprised. Then they listened raptly about the rooftop pool and John’s scar and all of the alone time they each got. After that everyone finally went to bed.

Anthea had other ideas. She pulled Sherlock to the side. “So you are going to actually make a play for him right? I saw the two of you kissing even if no one else did. You like him, Sherlock. Don’t let him go. He likes you too. It’s obvious.”

His cheeks flushed and he twirled the rose in his fingertips. “Yes, I think I just might.”

“I know how competitive you are, Sherlock. I don’t think you’ll lose.” Anthea gave him a glittering smile that has won over more than one heart in the past.

“Oh, I have no intention of losing. Thank you, Anthea.” Sherlock leans over and gives her a quick peck on the cheek before walking toward the men’s side of the manor with a small smile on his face.

 

The next day, of course, the next one-on-one date card showed up. This one would be for a man. The first was for a woman, so in keeping with how this had all taken place symmetrically so far, the second would be for a man.   

They were all sitting around in the common room as required when the host showed up with the card. He swept in, spoke his witty remark, dropped the card on the table, and swept out. This time it was Marissa who grabbed the card, it wasn’t going to be anyone who had already been on a date anyway so Sherlock wasn’t all that interested.

“Mason, let’s get our hearts pumping, John.” Marissa read out and then tossed the card to Mason before tossing herself back onto the couch.

Sherlock glanced over at Mason and saw the smirk on his face and he might have wanted to punch it off of his face for a wild moment there. The people here were atrocious. He really just needed to focus on the murderer angle while he was being forced to interact with these vile excuses for human beings.

Mason flicked the card in his palm a few times before sauntering off to change clothes. During that time John arrived of course and talked to the few people who he hasn’t been able to have dates with. His eyes flickered over to Sherlock once or twice and Sherlock marveled at his newfound ability not to blush under John’s gaze. He was rather proud of this since John was so far the only person who has been able to make him blush in some way other than anger.

Mason came down the stairs walking with that irritating swagger that a man who knew he was attractive had. He didn’t even deign to sit down with them all for a moment. He just waltzed past them towards the door and clearly motioned for John to follow him as though he already had a claim on the man. Sherlock rolled his eyes in a move that he honestly never thought he would make outside of his annoyance at Anderson.

John got up and followed the man out the door with a quick goodbye. His date with Mason was off to a bad start already if he was honest with himself. They got into the small chauffeured car and drove out to the small private airport. They chatted about nothing of import while they drove there, which was good for John. So far he wasn’t exactly fond of the way Mason had acted, before they got into the deeper conversation he wanted to be able to get that bit out of his head.

Once they got there John and Mason both climbed out of the car and looked around. “So I figured since you’re a photographer and you’re always stuck behind the scenes we’ll both get to be a bit crazy today and go sky diving. What do you think?” John asked. As he saw Mason taking in the scene of the one single plane and runway.

“Why the hell not? Let’s do this.” Mason smiled. John could definitely see what people would see in the man. He was rather attractive, if cocky. They walked toward the plane and the four men standing there.  

One was the pilot, the other was their safety instructor who gave them a very long and boring speech which Mason was clearly ignoring, much to john’s annoyance. John was listening rather intently. He didn’t want to do any more damage to himself and he was a doctor after all. This man was treating safety like a joke.

Finally when they were ready to go all six of them boarded the plane. The two other men were going to be the ones they were strapped to and would be the ones pulling the strings for the parachutes. It took some time to go through all the checks that a plane has to go through before take-off and then a bit more time for them to get to the right height and get all strapped into the gear and onto their specified person.

It was a bit of a weird and kind of funny and awkward experience, but John figured that if it had been Sherlock, or even Sarah or Spencer or Amy or Anthea or Ben or Kathleen or Mary or a lot of the other contestants he would have been laughing and having a good time. Mason was making this a tense experience when it could have been a time worth remembering. When it was finally time to jump off the plane John had of course been hoping that it would have been the whole bonding and opening up type of thing, as cheesy as it was it usually worked, but not this time. It was just two guys jumping out of a plane. Very, very boring. Well, as boring as jumping out of a plane can be anyway.

When they finally landed they got unhooked from all the lines and extra harnesses they had been locked into they made their way to the path. The restaurant they would go to for dinner wasn’t very far from the landing site and it was a nice night out so John had decided that they might as well walk there. They had been walking along in moderately to severe awkwardness. They were talking, but it really was just about nothing of importance. Then they passed by an alleyway opening and Mason stopped and dragged John in.

Mason leaned down and moved to kiss John, but John reacted quickly and turned away. Mason’s kiss landed on John’s cheek instead of on his lips and John pushed Mason off of him. “Yeah, Mason. I really don’t think that this is going to work out. I don’t think I would have been able to offer you the rose tonight any way.”

“Wait, you’re seriously sending me home?” Mason reared back from John now looking absolutely pissed.

“Yeah I am. There’s nothing there for me. You’re really not my type is all.” John explained himself.

“And you’re saying that the fucking freak Sherlock is your type?” Mason all but yelled at him. “You’ve got to be kidding me! I’m the best you could ever get! I’m not even fucking gay. This is a stupid fucking experiment for me.”

John pursed his lips at that. Sherlock probably got that kind of thing all the time from the way he reacted to things. It made John mad for the man. It was absolutely not fair for him. John was more pissed off about the slight at Sherlock than about Mason being on the show as an experiment. “Yes, he is. And you clearly aren’t. Sorry, but I am sending you home tonight, Mason. There should be a car here for you by now and they’ll get your luggage and all of that for you. This isn’t an experiment for me. And I don’t want some fucked up gay experiment. Bye, Mason.” John pushed his weight onto his cane and pushed his way out of the alley. He started walking the other way back towards where the manor house was. The car that would be his would eventually catch up with him and pick him up so he knew he wouldn’t end up having to walk the whole distance. 

 

Everyone was sitting in the common room with the television blaring some ridiculous version of some reality show, which really shouldn’t surprise Sherlock anymore considering that he was now on a ridiculous reality show. He was studying everyone Mary was chatting with Kayla and Amanda and Ryan. It felt like it was a pointless study in watching her while they were all in the room with each other. Whoever the murderer was they were going to be very careful when in a room full of people. They were never going to do something to give themselves away when they knew others were watching.

He needed to be sure to study people while they think they aren’t being studied. He needed to watch and see certain reactions that don’t match with the stories that they gave and the backgrounds that they have given. The answers that didn’t match would be the ones that would give him his murderer.

All of a sudden a door burst open and a worker came into the room and grabbed the luggage that was stacked in the corner of the room. It was Mason’s luggage that had been packed earlier that day just in case John decided not to give him the rose on the one-on-one. No one really expected that to happen so early on, but clearly things just got serious.

“Holy shit!” Veronica muttered for everyone in the room. That just about summed up everyone’s thoughts for the evening. The entire contest just got very real.

 

The next time they all got together was for the cocktail party. It was the culmination of the first week and it was huge and stressful and tense. Everyone had realized that this was real and that John was not taking this lightly at all. Mason had gone home on a week one one-on-one date that was virtually unheard of. John was breaking all of the rules and pretty much anything could happen from here on out.

No one was safe which meant that everyone and everything was fair game. Everyone wanted alone time with John and everyone wanted to dress to impress. Of course both Sherlock and Kathleen knew they were safe, but they wanted to see John as well. Everyone was talking and lounging around when John arrived with Marcus to do a lovely introduction as always.

“As you all know this is our second cocktail party you will all have time to talk with John and then we will have our second rose ceremony. Tonight two more people will go home. There would have been three, but Mason has already gone home as of the other night. Enjoy your evening everyone.” Marcus slid off to the side to wait for his moment to announce the rose ceremony.

John slid around the room and started to sit down on the couch only to be caught by the arm and dragged away by Amanda. She was always one to be very over eager and aggressive when it came to men she was going after. It had only been a week, but Sherlock was sure that it wouldn’t be long before something happened between her and the bisexual male model Ryan. They were almost always together these days.

As soon as the one-on-one time started then it was a free for all. Sherlock of course stayed out of it. Usually Sherlock wouldn’t hesitate to piss people off and go in and steal John away, but this was a chance to study the others when they weren’t expecting to be studied.

Amy and Ben were currently sitting together and chatting. Nothing unusual there. Anthea was cozying up to Mary as she had been doing for the past few days, though she always made sure to try to keep someone else in the conversations as often as possible, this time it was a man named Sebastian. She was finding out about the woman while making it seem completely casual. Anthea was trained at it.

Sherlock on the other hand was studying the behavior from afar. Seeing the bits that didn’t fit. Like the fact that when people seemed to bump themselves into furniture or start to drink a bit too much, or get uncomfortable in situations, people like John and Sarah and even Kathleen with their professions and doctors and a teacher show compassion whereas Mary seems to not notice. A practicing nurse would have noticed. A murderer on the other hand, would definitely not notice or particularly care.

John was still moving about the room. He finally made his way to Anthea’s little group of three and broke them apart he started with Sebastian leaving the two women to chat alone, they seemed to get along famously laughing every few moments. Sebastian and John’s conversation ended quickly and John moved on to Mary. Their conversation went on quite a bit longer and then he finally went on to Anthea. Their conversation went on about the same length as the one he had with Mary, Anthea did have quite a few charms when she chose to use them.

If Sherlock had calculated correctly which he always did, John had talked to everyone in the room except for himself and Kathleen now. John went and grabbed Kathleen for a chat now which meant he was saving Sherlock for last again. Sherlock was perfectly okay with that actually, especially if that meant he got to kiss John again.

It took a decent amount of time before John came and grabbed him by the hand, twined his fingers through his own and tugged him out of the room and through to a private corner that no one was in. Sherlock didn’t say a word as he was led along until they were safely alone. “John, you should know, that I am very against being manhandled. I do think I deserve a reward for not throwing my wine in your face right then.” Sherlock was smiling down at the man who had backed him against the wall as he was talking.

John didn’t even say a word, he just grabbed Sherlock by the back of his neck and pulled him down to crush his waiting lips to John’s. This time Sherlock immediately opened his mouth to John and the kiss became heated very quickly. John let out a groan, he hadn’t been this affected by a kiss in a very long time. At the sound, Sherlock bucked into John’s body. All of his previous sexual encounters had been completely emotionless and not nearly as heated. It had all been about just getting off. This was about the person.

The kiss hit a high point where they were both so aroused that they thought that they would combust. John made himself pull away. If he didn’t now, he knew he wouldn’t be able to. Sherlock made a small whining noise before following John’s mouth with his own. He managed to recapture the man in a quick kiss again for another few moments before they finally broke for air.

“Good enough reward?” John rasped out. He was just as out of breath as Sherlock was which was nice. It showed that John was reacting to him just as he was reacting to John.

Sherlock burst out laughing at John’s words. He had almost forgotten what he had said to John before being kissed. “It was adequate.”

This time it was John’s turn to break into laughter. He then ran a hand through Sherlock’s messy curls before resting the hand on the nape of his neck. Sherlock really didn’t mind being touched when it was John. “Shut it, you git! I looked up your website by the way.”

“Really? And how did you manage that? We aren’t allowed phones or computers with internet access after all.” Sherlock pointed out to him.

“I managed to nick one off one of my camera men for a bit the other night.”  John spoke with amusement in his voice.

“I believe I may have been a bad influence on you, John.”  Sherlock was smiling as he spoke. John could clearly keep up with him and didn’t mind bending a few rules.

“Mmm… I like the influence you have on me, Sherlock. So you know I have a sister and you know I played rugby, obviously. Do you have siblings?” John asked Sherlock as he ran his thumb up and down the lithe man’s neck.

“Ugh, John, you had to go and bring up Mycroft?” Sherlock let his head fall back against the wall which just made the way John was touch his neck feel even more intimate. “He’s my only sibling. Older brother. He’s very annoying and he would say that he occupies a minor role in the British government. Also, no I did not play any sports. Definitely not my area.”

“I can’t really imagine you in a rugby jersey either.” John spoke and then paused for a moment. “Though, I could easily picture having you in mine if we had met in our school years.”

“And you would have claimed me in such a public way? In most of my schooling I was seen as an outcast, at best. You were the popular type, John.” Sherlock shifted. He felt awkward now. He hadn’t meant to state it that way. He didn’t want John to know that he had been a freak all his life.

“I don’t think I could have stayed away from you if I tried.” John gave him a smile that made him almost able to forget all the times he had been called a freak and pushed around at school and still to this day by Anderson and Donovan. “I still want to know about how you ended up going skinny dipping though.”

“It was for a case.” Sherlock replied quickly. Of course it had been for a case. He said it as though it explained everything. To Sherlock it did and he really did hope that John wasn’t about to be freaked out by his determination to do anything to solve cases.

“You are absolutely mad, do you know that?” John asked him. He had a small smile on his face as he spoke to the taller man. Sherlock shook his head in silent agreement. “I find that I don’t mind that at all.”

Sherlock’s gaze snapped back to John’s and then his lips stretched into a smile. John was surprising him. It was a shock to Sherlock at all that the man before him wasn’t boring him to death in just a few moments, but then John actually liked him as well. It was completely dazzling.

 

John and Sherlock rejoined everyone with their lips a bit more swollen than they had been previously. They all were in the main room when Marcus came back to announce that the second rose ceremony would be happening in just a few short moments.

They had John leave with Marcus and the contestants all line up together. The roses were brought in and the set up was made to look dramatic. It was all a big scene. The next few minutes were taken up with the staging, but then finally Marcus and John walked back in.  

“Good evening ladies and gentlemen. This will be the second rose ceremony of the season. As Mason was sent home on his one-on-one date earlier this week only two people will be going home tonight. Kathleen and Sherlock you both have roses and so you are both safe. There are fifteen roses left. John, whenever you’re ready.” Marcus glided off to the side with a charming smile.

John took a deep breath before greeting them all. “Hello, so this week has been difficult. I got to know all of you a lot better. These decisions are going to just keep getting harder as relationships get closer and I am here to make relationships. I’m not here to make a name or be someone’s gay experiment or to experiment on someone or anything else. I do know what I want. So without further ado. I guess I should just get started, yeah?”

“Sarah, Mary, Spencer, Derek, Anthea, Elizabeth, Joseph, Ben, Amanda, Marissa, Ian, Ryan, Kevin, Veronica…” John spoke each name and followed the same routine of asking each person to accept the rose and always having the person answer with a variation of a ‘yes’.

“This is the final rose of the night, John, whenever you’re ready.” Marcus stepped onto the stage and then off without anyone being really aware of him. Everyone who had not been called yet were waiting with bated breath.    

“Kayla.” John said. She walked up and accepted his rose.

Sherlock of course glanced around as this was all happening. Amy was shocked. She was pale and furious looking. She seemed more upset than anyone in the room. She didn’t seem to be the type of woman who would have been someone who would have been overly attached so early. It seemed odd to have barely talked to John and yet have been so upset at leaving so early on.

Ben also seemed oddly upset by the people leaving he seemed to be very pale. Maybe he had had something going on with Amy or Sebastian and that’s why he’s so upset about it all. His face is so completely devoid of all color. He looked as though he could be sick any moment and as though he was about to sweat through his clothes.

Amy and Sebastian both walked up to say goodbye to John. Sebastian was calm and refrained from any kind of emotional reaction at all. Amy on the other hand still seemed completely pissed off. She acted as though touching John was the last thing she wanted to do and as though she wanted to slap or kick him to get her revenger for booting her off of the show.

This would definitely be getting the studio ratings. Things were getting interesting that was for sure. When they came around and said goodbye to the other contestants Sherlock noticed that Amy didn’t linger long at Ben’s side and neither did Sebastian so neither explained his pale face. Though, Mary’s goodbye to Amy seemed a bit extensive. Hmm, either way he would have to think on that and see if Anthea had noticed anything about them being suspicious. They had talked about partners as a possibility for the murders.


	5. Week Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Week two! John and all the contestants travel to China where the next round of dates take place. John learns some things and people start really getting into the competition.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys!! So so so sorry that I've been away for so long. I have some health issues so when I over do it with work or anything I end up not being able to do anything, including writing. I got a new job a couple of months ago and so I've been trying to work on that work/ life balance. Hopefully I'm getting back to it now! I really hope you guys are still reading! this is a super long chapter so I really hope you all enjoy.   
> Also just to be clear I have never been to China and so a lot of this should probably be taken with a grain of salt as for travel times and statistics and how it all truly looks in person. I'm sorry if I get any of it horrendously wrong! All mistakes are my own and there might be quite a few. I didn't reread this one as many times to check for errors. And I've never owned any of Sherlock or the ideas of the bachelor. Just wish I did!

This week John knew that it was coming. It was the second Monday that he was woken up to a pounding knock on his door. He had refused to set an alarm hoping against hope that the producer and host would both sleep in and spare him the annoyance of showing up at an annoyingly ungodly hour. However, that seemed to not be the case as they were hell bent on showing up at nine on the dot.

John threw the covers off of himself and went over to the door. He didn’t even bother with looking up to see who it was or even offering them a real greeting. “If this is going to be a weekly thing you should start bringing tea.” He slumped down into the chair he had claimed at the meeting last week as well.

After everyone was settled they just sat there smiling at the man while he stared back at them bleary eyed. “So we are actually going to be changing up the weekly schedule a bit actually.”

John propped up his chin on his hand. “Hmm, how so?”

“Well, you do know that we had you supply all the documents so that you could travel out of the country. Well that will be starting this week. So today will be planning, tomorrow will be travel, Wednesday will be settling in, Thursday will be a one on one, Friday will be a group date, Saturday will be a one on one, then Sunday will be the cocktail party.” Lucas spoke to John while Marcus and Megan both just sat there content with listening in.

“Oh, well that will be an interesting change up. I always wanted to see some different places. Where are we off to? I’m guessing I don’t get as much say in that. Considering flight plans and hotel bookings would take a lot more advance planning.” He was still talking slower. He was of course yawning in between his sentences as well.

“True enough, John. Though that is what we pay Megan so much for.” At Lucas’ comment Megan did smile at them all. “The first place we plan to go to is China. We actually came so early to give you a couple of options.”

The last statement made John wake up a lot more. He started to liven up at the idea of being able to have some more control and choices in this craziness. “What options would those be?”

“Well after that bit about you nicking a phone off of a camera man-“ Lucas started, but John interrupted him.

“Which by the way you shouldn’t punish anyone for! I did it completely without their knowledge.”  John spoke quickly hoping that he could convince them of it all.

“Yeah we know. We did figure that out after we found out which ip address had logged on to that website. It wasn’t all that hard. You give us too little credit John. We have had quite a few bachelors who tried to do a lot worse things than you for a lot worse reasons. You at least were simply curious.” Lucas explained to him.

“Okay, good. I would hate to see him get fired or something because I stole his phone. And I really did steal it. I don’t think he even noticed it was gone actually.” John had a small smile on his face now that he was sure that he hadn’t actually gone and gotten some poor man fired.

“No, we wouldn’t have fired him over that. No worries there. We figured that since you ended up giving the phone back after only looking up that website and doing nothing else we could trust you with these options.” Lucas, Marcus and Megan were all wearing matching smiles so clearly there was something here he wasn’t understanding.

“Back to the options part, are we? Are you going to actually give me the options now?” John asked them all.

“Yes, well I was going to give them to you earlier, but you interrupted. The options are we’ll give you say two hours or so to research every Monday morning before setting the date ideas, giving you back internet access to your laptop. That way you could stay more involved in the date ideas and all that like you said last week. Or you could let us put preplanned ideas to you and you could just plug in the people.” Lucas gave him the two options.

“No, I’d definitely like to be able to do some research if you’d let me. That would be great.” John thought he’d like to actually continue to put some thought into these things. It helped to figure out who was actually all that interested in him and things he might be interested in. Or could at least have fun with him in crazy or odd situations.

“We all figured you’d say that. So we already had the wireless internet information all written up for you.” Megan told him and passed him over a sheet of paper with the name of the wifi and the password on it.

“Thank you.” John said. It was nice that they were trusting him with this.

“Just as long as you know that the first place we’ll go if anything gets leaking to the tabloids is going to be you.” Lucas laughed along with John.

“Trust me that is more than fair.” John replied.

“Good, then we’ll give you a couple of hours and we’ll finalize travel plans and be back then.” They all exited as one and left John to his research.

 

He took his time. He looked at a bunch of different tourist sites on China and then going into different detailed sites on a couple different things. He wasn’t sure if they planned on giving him specific ideas for people he had to pick from again like they did the first week. So he went for a few different ideas.

By the time they came back though John had gotten distracted and made his way back to Sherlock’s website. It was absolutely amazing how much the man could deduce from the smallest of details. Half the stuff sounded absolutely ludicrous, but he had seen the man do it all on the spot, with information that other people had clearly not told him. It was overwhelming. Of course when the knock on his door came he quickly exited out of that browser. There was no need to let them all know that he was clearly even more interested in Sherlock than they already knew.

Once they were all settled again back in their same spots, it was feeling a bit routine. John was starting to wonder if they would really bring tea next time. “So quick question. Are you going to continue to give me people who the polls want to see me take on dates?”

“Yes, we will. Though with each new poll we will be showing these groups small clips of your time with each contestant so they’ll be able to better know who they would want to see you on a date with. This week the majority of people want to see you out with on the one-on-one dates with Anthea or Marissa. I think that was a majority of the males voting. They seemed to all vote for the most beautiful women anyway. As for the men they seem torn they went for the nice guy Ben and then Ryan who is very over the top. You could always switch it up of course. Choose who you like. It just really does make everything easier on us when it seems like you play along with the studio.” Lucas explained again.

“I know. You said that I don’t have to keep them just take them on the date. Like with Mason. They didn’t care that I didn’t even finish the date with him did they?” John asked.

“No, they didn’t. They knew you took him out on our suggestion, so they didn’t care that you felt nothing for the man and sent him packing. It’s all for the ratings. They want a good show and they think that everything is perfect if it comes from those polls. They are wrong of course, but we can’t tell them that.” They all shared a cynical little smile at that one before finally getting back to the real conversation.

“All right. I’ll play along again. I’m still glad that I’m getting some control in all of this. So for the woman I’d say Anthea. And I’d say The Great Wall. I know that we can’t empty it, but I think that’s something she would enjoy. She seems to be able to thrive with any kind of person, I’d like to see that for myself.” John started off.

“John you continue to surprise us. You really are setting the bar high you know. After this season having to go back to the usual crop of bastard bachelors is going to be a nightmare.” Marcus spoke up for the first time.

“You guys really need to start screening better.” John quipped. The three of them all laughed, but it quickly died down at the truth of the statement.

“Okay so for the man, I would say Ben, I really am not so sure about Ryan at the moment and I think it would probably look bad if I ended up sending him home as well right after Mason. My idea for that would be a straight tourist thing, he’s such a shy person so something really low key. A visit to see the Terra Cotta army would be pretty cool. And maybe some kind of walk through some shops.” John had really thought all of this out it made sense for the people and it all worked well.

“For the group date, I’m really not too certain as for the competition kind of aspect…” John trailed off here. He really was stumped. He knew that this early in there was always a competition style thing and half the party went home and the other half stayed on the date.

“John, if you wouldn’t mind me interjecting.” Megan started.

“Not at all.” He was grateful really.

“Well, there is the Chinese tradition of the tea ceremony. It’s this sort of marriage ritual kind of thing. It’s all very big on tradition and it could be seen as romantic to have them all learn about it as well. They could all be shown an example once and then be asked to perform it and the best ones to be able to recreate it would be the ones to stay. That is of course if you agreed.” Megan was very, very good at her job. Even though they knew what John would say in this arrangement, she was of course ready with ideas.

“That sounds perfect actually. Something new to learn about as well. Could that all take place at the Forbidden City. It’s that museum place. And then the winners can go up to Jingshan park afterwards. It’s supposed to have a beautiful view from what I was reading. I thought that would be a really relaxing thing to enjoy.” John asked them. Looking at their faces as though he could read them.

“That sounds doable. Are those all things we can make work Megan?” Lucas asked her.

“I’ll get to work on it right away. I think I can manage.” Megan spoke with a smile. Which definitely meant yes.

“Right, that’s good then. How many people go on this group date?” John asked now wanting to know the logistics.

“This time around it’ll be twelve again. We like to keep it high the second time to show the viewers we are giving people an equal chance at time with you.” Lucas explained to him. “If I could give you a piece of advice though it would be easier to leave Kathleen off of a date this week since she had a one-on-one last week and is still here. That is typically something a viewer can’t criticize and neither can a contestant really, because they know what this is about.”

“Thanks, that’s definitely helpful actually.” John spoke and then sat thoughtful for a minute. He knew that he would leave out Kathleen then. He had to come up with two other people to leave off of a date. “Does it have to be an even six and six spread?”

“No, of course not.” Lucas answered him, not at all worried about it.

“Okay then I want Elizabeth, Marissa, Kayla, Veronica, Amanda, Kevin, Derek, Spencer, Ian, Joseph, Ryan, and Sherlock on the date.” John finally said once he came up with the answer he had settled on.

“Really? That honestly surprises me a bit. I had thought that you would have wanted Sarah and Mary on the date. I was sure that you liked both of them.” Lucas looked a bit lost. He had done these things for years. He called them from the beginning. He was sure of this. He can’t have been this wrong.  

“That’s the thing I do like them. I’m very certain that I like them. So I don’t think that anything that happens on the dates is going to change the idea that I like them and make me want to send them home.” John felt like he needed to explain himself to the perplexed show producer.

“Okay, okay, I can understand that. If that is your rationale though then why not leave Sherlock off of the date. I’m more than certain that you won’t be changing your mind about him either.” Lucas asked, now he was trying to understand a new type of human being it seemed.

“I think I can answer this one.” Megan burst in before John could muster up some lame excuse. “John wants to see Sherlock a lot more than he wants to see Sarah or Mary. Even if he is more certain about Sherlock it doesn’t really matter, does it John?”

“Do you really need me to answer that? Or are you just humoring me now?” John asked as he sat back in his chair with his arms folded across his chest.

“Oh, mostly just humoring you I think.” Megan replied before she went back to scribbling in her notepad again.

“So is it finally time for my job then?” Marcus broke in.

“If you must.” John joked.

“Well I was thinking ‘Join me for a cuppa’ for the group date since the whole tea ceremony thing. Thought that might be rather fitting.” Marcus spoke easily. Insults and jokes just slid off of the man.

“I like it. Not too over the top.” John commented waiting on the next one with a wince and a grown ready.

“Okay for Anthea’s what I’ve got is ‘Love needs a strong foundation. Let’s explore this one together.’” Marcus said. He knew he was heading into dangerous territory because his face said that he was waiting for a reaction. And he got one. A groan from each person at the table and a startled laugh out of John.

“I feel almost certain that she is going to laugh at that. I don’t think she’s the kind of girl to giggle at clichés.” John was still laughing which even got a laugh out of Marcus.

“I think you’re probably right, but it’s what I’ve got and unless you’ve got better it’s what will be on the card.” Marcus raised a single brow at the man daring him to come up with something better than a time stamped onto a card.

“Nope! It’s your show mate! I’m just the cast!” He rushed to call out.

“Exactly! Thank you very much. For Ben’s my best one would have to be ‘Let’s have a getaway.’” Marcus was a bit fond of that one. It was good! Ambiguous in the right kind of way for the show!

“That one is good. Good job Marcus.” John said.

“I’m not here just to be a pretty face, you know.” Marcus said pretending to be put out.

“Stop faking Marcus.” Lucas laughed and then elbowed the man.

“Oh! Next week could you guys possibly tell me who the date possibilities are before I do research so I can look for things specific for those people?” John asked. He wasn’t sure if that was how it would be able to work or not, but it couldn’t hurt to ask and see.

“Yeah, we can do that. We weren’t sure if you would agree again this week, that’s why we didn’t want to bring it up so quickly.” Lucas spoke with a self-recriminating smile on his face.   

“Understood. Though if those polls don’t get to some of the people I’d like them to soon, I might have to start deviating…” John shrugged his shoulders. He wasn’t going to leave off a one-on-one date with Sherlock forever.

“Also understood. We kind of figured that one out for ourselves funny enough.” They all stood up as one and made their way towards the door. “Oh, you may want to let your family know that you will be out of the country. You can tell them where, but no other details. Also, pack up everything. We leave early tomorrow and travel all day.”

“Thanks, all of you.” He was sincere about it. He was genuinely thankful for all that they had done for him

           

Once they had left John started his packing. He had gotten halfway through by the time he had gotten bored. He set it aside for the time being and settled on texting Harry and his Mum.

_Hey Harry. I just wanted to let you know that tomorrow we head off to China for a week. – JW_

**What? You get to travel too? So not fair.**

_Yes, that is why they asked for all those documents. – JW_

**That does make a lot more sense now. Are you still not going to give me anything to go on for bets?**

_No, Harry. I’m really not. Do you really not have anything better to do? – JW_

**No, not really. All the cash I had used drinking is now just sitting about. I could win big you know. There’s a lot of people who say they know people who know people who know someone who is on it as a contestant and so forth so they are all betting big.**

_How is the drinking? – JW_

**Nice change of conversation I see. It’s good. I’m still sober that is. I want to contact Clara again, but I won’t until I hit six months at least. I need that milestone.**

_That’s amazing, Harry. That’s wonderful. You are finally, really, truly doing this. I couldn’t be more proud of you. – JW_

**Yes, well. You finally showing Dad that he can’t just ignore you because it was easier. That’s something to be proud of too.**

_Thanks, Harry. No, that doesn’t mean I will give you betting hints. Trust me, watch the first episode and you’ll pick a winner. I’m sure you, mum, and dad will all disagree though. – JW_

**Don’t we always?**

_You were usually the one who got it right though. Mum was too sweet about things, dad too cynical, you were the right amount of realistic. – JW_

**True. I’ll go with my gut then.**

_Good choice. I should text mum now, I’ll be avoiding texting dad, has he calmed down any? – JW_

**I wouldn’t know. I have been avoiding them fairly well myself. After his blowup at you he had a recurring one at me saying I ‘poisoned’ you.**

_Oh his favorite excuse. He’d hate to think of what he did wrong in raising a ‘straight’ son. Ugh. I’m sorry. – JW_

**It isn’t your fault he’s insensitive and closed-minded. Don’t apologize for finally being happy with who you are.**

_Thanks, Harry. I’ll talk to you soon. Make sure to text me when you see the first show. Let me know how ridiculous I look. - JW_

After his conversation with Harry he had mixed feelings about texting his mum at all. He knew that his dad would be there and probably be reading his message almost as soon as she did. So it would never be just them talking. It would always be with him over her shoulder making him feel bad about who he was. He knew that his mum, who was an amazing woman, deserved to know that he was going out of the country at the very least.

He took a few long deep breaths before composing the text to send. It took a while. It wasn’t a complicated message, but there was a lot to say or be put between the lines.

_Hey, mum. I have my phone available to me so I can check in every once in a while. And I wanted to be able to see how Harry was doing on her treatment. I just wanted to let you know that for this next week the contestants and I are all going to China. The next few dates are going to be happening there. I love you both. – JW_

**OH! John! I’m so glad to hear from you. Harry is doing wonderful in her treatment. We all miss you dearly. That is wonderful news that you get to travel. We always knew it was one of the perks you liked about the military. How is the show going?**

_Well, mum! Really well. There are quite a few people here who I really like. The producers and staff have done an excellent job of finding people who would do well matched up with me. – JW_

That first reply from his mum must have come at a moment when his dad wasn’t nearby. That had be way too nice to be coming from him. John wasn’t going look a gift horse in the mouth though. He was going to take the time to converse with him mum while his dad was distracted where he could get it.

**We are both very glad that you are having a good time! Hopefully this works out for you and you can bring a nice girl home! You probably had to send most of the men home right off since you are mostly straight.**

This on the other hand was a reply much more like the kind he was used to from his father. He was much more certain that his dad had had a hand in it now.

_Actually I’d say that you two will just have to watch and find out like the rest of the world. Though I supposed that something that basically everyone already knows is that the playing field is very even. Guys and girls. I’m bisexual. Not straight and not gay. So one gender has just as much chance as the other. Love you both. I hope you enjoy the show. – JW_

**We love you too sweetheart. And I will be there to meet whomever it is. Regardless of gender. I will bring him along if I can. Hopefully a calmer version. I love you, John.**

_I love you too, mum. – JW_

That had been a rough conversation. He had known it was going to go like that and it had still sucked. It sucked even worse knowing that somewhere was Lucas reading over all those messages. Hopefully he would just scan them and forget them just as quickly. They were horrible. His father loved him he knew that much.

The man had never laid a hand against him or harmed him in any other way. Yes it was horrible that his father didn’t accept all of who he was, but it was how he was raised. Harold Watson was raised in a small rural town that was tiny and no nonsense. You got married and had kids. He was a big thinker because he went off and married a girl from the city, Margaret, they fell in love and then the rest is history. So he was raised that way to see being different as a bad thing. His mother on the other hand embraced it.

His dad was definitely hard on the gay issue. It wasn’t as though he was being emotionally abusive towards his children, he just saw it as wrong where they were being who they are. They fought about it like no other, they might never agree, which would mean awkward and short family holidays and visits, but they would still visit.

John took a long deep breath in and held it for ten seconds before exhaling. Then again. And then a third time. Then one final time before returning to his packing. It took him the rest of the day to finish with his constant starts and stops because of his severe boredom, but he finally got it done. He watched some crap telly before crashing back into bed completely not ready for an entire day of travelling the next day, but excited for it nonetheless.

 

The next morning he was all packed up, but the wakeup call came earlier than he was expecting. At least he had gotten to bed before three in the morning though. He had gotten a good night sleep at the very least. He managed to get dressed in jeans and a sweater. He was going to be comfortable if they were just going to be sitting around in airports and on planes all day.

He was still moving a bit slow as he started to carry out one of his suitcases. One of the other staff members saw him carrying it and grabbed it from him. They were clearly there to do the job of loading up the luggage of all of the contestants, staff, camera people, and extra members.

The packing went quickly with how many people they had working on it. It was a procession of cars that took off towards the airport. John was in a car with Lucas, Marcus and Megan. They figured that it wouldn’t be fair to some of the contestants if he had been put in a car ride with some of them and not the others.

At the airport they all sat in a large clustered group so no one was able to pull John aside for alone time. It was all fair and everyone was involved in a large group conversation. If anyone started side conversations with other people then that was their own choice. Once on the plane itself John was specifically put in a seat next to Marcus rather than next to any of the contestants. It was a long plane ride and they were well aware that they would get shit from at least a few of the contestants if one was put next to John and the others were neglected.

Once they got there it was all chaos and excitement. Most of them had never been to China before. It was a whole new experience and it was exciting to see everything right from stepping off of the plane. It was basically straight from plane to car and then right off to the hotel, but the sights between them were all a joy to look at.

Everyone was shuttled off to their rooms with the staff that carried their bags of luggage along with the smiling hotel staff. The hotels were all happy to be chosen when they stayed there. They got the free publicity and they got the extra money from it all. All they had to do was put on smiles and deal with having cameras around for a week.

Once everyone was in their rooms members of the staff told them all to make sure to rest up. That the time change would catch up to them all if they weren’t used to travelling and it would knock them on their ass the next day if they didn’t take it easy. Each couple of people got a suite of rooms. Marissa, Veronica, Mary, and Elizabeth were in one suite of rooms while in the other girl’s suite Amanda, Anthea, Sarah, Kayla, and Kathleen were rooming together. The guy’s rooms were separated into Sherlock, Derek, Ben, Ryan and then Spencer, Ian, Joseph, and Kevin.

They had rented out a suite large enough for them to specifically hang out in during the day as well. They were still expected to make appearances during the day and socialize with each other and wait around for date cards like eager puppies. They all crashed and woke up the next morning a bit jet lagged and more than a bit ready to take in the sites.

They couldn’t travel too far from the hotel. Which John knew, but he still took the time to go out for a walk around the couple of blocks surrounding the hotel. It was a quiet little area that was cute and colorful. The contestants who all woke up later than he had decided to do much the same. Many of them just decided to enjoy the pool area at the hotel, but a few, Sherlock, Mary, Spencer, Derek, Sarah, Anthea, Elizabeth, and Kathleen went for a walk around. They ventured out father than John and found a small little tea shop that they stopped at. It had a completely different style and taste than they kind that they were used to drinking in London, but it was still enjoyable.

By the time they made it back a good portion of the day had passed and they passed the rest of it in the rented common room suite. Derek automatically turned on the television and found whatever sport related show that was on. This usually annoyed Sherlock to no end, but he really had no energy to entertain the idea of complaining at the moment.

Spencer and Mary had both joined Derek in watching so that wasn’t all that interesting. He was hoping to get Mary talking again. He had yet to gain anything else from the woman. She hadn’t contradicted herself again. Which was quite surprising. If someone was that involved in planning a murder and contemplating their own lies usually they would be making more mistakes.

To Sherlock’s eyes Mary was unusually good at her acting. He knew for one that she was lying about her job. He was sure on that one. She was surely lying about other things as well. He just had no idea how to get the real story out of her. How could he get her lies to the surface without making it obvious that that was exactly what he was doing?

Maybe if there was a chance that he could get John in on it then they would have a better shot. Any more group dates that had to do with questions or chances for Sherlock or Anthea to interact specifically with Mary would do wonders for them. He needed to talk to Anthea and Mycroft.

Sherlock went off to his own hotel room and went to the restroom. He quickly turned on the shower to make it sound as though that was what he was currently doing. He would wet his hair before he went out to make sure to keep up the façade.

_Mycroft, I need to bring John in on the investigation. He could help. And he obviously isn’t the killer. – SH_

**How are you sure? – MH**

_Because I’m me, Mycroft. It isn’t John. He’s military, has a moral code, if he was going to kill it would be to correct a wrong in the world not to showcase some childish need to be able to kill in public. I’m right and you know I am. This is why you put me here. – SH_

**All true. I just wanted to hear your explanation. Anthea has extra untraceable burner phones. Get her to slip one to him. – MH**

After he had officially had gotten the okay from Mycroft he made to text Anthea, but saw that he was getting an incoming text from her already. She worked a lot faster when technology was in the works. Mycroft had clearly already texted her when Sherlock had first made contact. Trusting him on his first go as he had said.

**I’ll get the phone to him soon. He’ll know about the both of us that way. He’ll also know that I won’t actually be competing. He’ll probably ask us both about that in great detail. You, quite a bit more than me, if I’m correct. So, you should be prepared for that. – A**

_I am. Thank you. I know that he would be rightfully curious about my intentions for being here after learning about that. – SH_

**Good. You may want to practice what to say. Sentiment isn’t your forte. And this is definitely sentiment. – A**

_I can practically hear your smug smile. Please refrain from using emoticons. – SH_

Sherlock tucked his phone into his clothes and then made sure to wet his hair before leaving the bathroom. Of course people continued to give him the strange looks he always gathered, but he was always used to those. When he made it over to the shared suite everyone was in there. It was a cluster of small groups. He found Mary and Anthea first to catalogue.

Anthea was talking in a group with Joseph and Spencer and Derek. It was an interesting group. So she was probably in agreement with Sherlock that Mary was too controlled and too perfectly groomed in her story and lies to be the single murderer here. This was definitely a group effort. She was probably in charge though. She seemed the type. She was so very well groomed in her lies that she was clearly not a novice at it. She had been telling them as though they came naturally to her tongue.

So it was someone else that was here so if she was sent as well maybe it was in a position as a teacher? Like grading their skill to integrate in their lies and role? Or maybe it was in the way of making sure they actually completed their task. So if they decided not to or couldn’t do it then Mary would step in. He was sure she was involved somehow though. He didn’t have the details narrowed down because he didn’t have much to go on. He knew that she was based on his deductions not matching up on her. She should have planned better. Though as the spectator and the backseat driver she had probably assumed that she would have garnered less attention.

So her partner, or protégé, or student, or whatever they were would have to be quieter and more sedate than she is… hmmm that was an interesting conclusion. Not based on fact at all. Much more conjecture than anything else. Could work though if it turned out to be true. That would mean that Amanda, Marissa, Veronica, Kayla, Derek, Ryan, Ian, and Joseph would all be out simply based on personality types. That would cut all of this down by a lot. Though they really couldn’t base this on a guess. That would never work with lives on the line. It wasn’t even a deduction, it was an actual guess on Sherlock’s part. He never guesses.

He would still send the idea to Anthea that night just in case she had anything to say on the matter. She was the better people person. She could probably tell who was potentially faking an outgoing personality or not which would be helpful. She could then make sure to chat more often with certain people and see if they are making more mistakes than usual or not.

That night when he had climbed in bed he sent a quick text to her and filled her in on his idea. Everyone had gone to bed early because they had all wanted to be rested just in case their name was the one on the date card that was brought the next day. Her response came lightning fast. She seemed to always be ready to reply.  

**Hm. That is an interesting idea. I can see how that would be a factor that would narrow the field considerably for the partner. I’ll start chatting with them more. Ryan and Amanda are definitely out of the running though. They are currently having sex in the room next to mine. Our murderer would never be that stupid. – A**

_Lovely. Have you noticed anything else about the others? I know that Elizabeth is unlikely, with her clearly being a loving mother to her daughter, though that doesn’t automatically discount her. – SH_

**True. The child isn’t a lie. Her life revolves around her daughter. It would be hard to hide being a killer as a mother. Also Joseph is lying. About a lot of things. I started noticing disconnects during talking to him. So maybe you should talk to him tomorrow and see. – A**

_Understood. I’ll look into Joseph. He is the stand-up comic I believe. I’ll try not to piss him off into punching me. – SH_

The next day came quickly. That was a blessing for Sherlock who was up half the night. He was in his mind palace going over the details of all of the contestants. There weren’t many details of a lot of them. They were just their stories told by what personas they put on in front of the cameras. It is rather hard to see who a person is when they are playing a part to be likeable.

There was details he could tell about them. Their tastes, what they liked to do, things that interested them, what bored them, what pissed them off, if they had pets or children, if they were gay or straight or bisexual, he could read when they were confident or uncomfortable, he could tell when someone was lying or telling the truth, he could tell someone’s occupation easily. He couldn’t however tell if someone was planning to commit murder in the future.

Sherlock sat down on the couch in between Ian and Joseph they were both outgoing and ignorant according to Sherlock’s internal calculations. He waited for them to speak first. They should going with their personalities anyway.

“So Sherlock, planning to get the date card today?” Ian asked all self-confidence.

“Oh, not at all. I figure that it would be a date for a woman today.” Sherlock answered easily.

“What? Why?” Joseph butted in.

“Well that’s how the first week of dates went. Why would they deviate?” It was the most obvious kind of thing to Sherlock. Why could no one else see these things? God, it must be dreadful living such boring lives.

It took a moment for both men to take in what he just said. Clearly they were both a bit slow then, Sherlock mentally added to their profiles he had of the contestants. “Oh, well even if it was a man today. It wouldn’t be you. I’m betting I get the date this week.” Ian finally spoke again.

“Right. I’m sure you will, Ian. Then you can finally awe John with talk of you debt collector’s job and how much of an interesting life you lead.” Sherlock poured disdain into his voice. He made sure that the other man would get at the very least pissed off enough to leave. Which was exactly what he did. Ian got up and stormed over to the complete opposite side of the room. He also grabbed a drink. He clearly was a heavy drinker if he needed a drink after being only slightly insulted. It wasn’t even the worst he could have done.

“That was rather rude. Though entertaining so I can’t say much. I practically make my living insulting people.” Joseph wasn’t as pissed as he could have been, which was interesting. There may be merit to Anthea’s theory after all. He could just be putting on the idea of a more outgoing personality to fit into the ideal of the show.

They got to talking while they were waiting for the date card to arrive. Sherlock started to notice something odd during their conversation. If it had only been once or twice it would have been easily explained away, but this was going on twenty-seven times. Joseph had lied about his background information eight times and his current status fourteen times during their talk. He had also lied about trivial information that he already knew the answers to but was testing him on four times. These were things that he undoubtedly would have and should have known the answer to. He wasn’t their killer, but he was a pathological liar.

Sherlock quickly got bored with the conversation after having deduced that one. It was rather easy since every other sentence out of the men’s mouth seemed to have to contradict something that he knew to be true. Though it didn’t have to be something that he said right then. It could be something he knew from years ago, or only in his mind, or even only subconsciously. Pathological liars were interesting. Though serial murderers were quite a bit more interesting.

Finally the date card arrived with their ever exuberant host who waved the card around at them and then dropped it on the table with a flourish and left the room quickly. Ian who was clearly trying to prove something to Sherlock, who really just rolled his eyes at the drunk idiot, was the one who jumped up and grabbed the card.

“Anthea, Love needs a strong foundation. Let’s explore this one together, John.” He practically slurred when he spoke and he definitely stumbled when he moved to hand Anthea the card and sit back down in the chair he had vacated previously.

That would work out perfectly. Anthea and Sherlock were both thinking similar thoughts. Anthea knew that she would be able to get through the date and secure herself a rose. She would also be able to get alone time with John and be able to slip him a cell phone that would be able to link him into communication with her, Sherlock, and Mycroft. He would officially be in on the investigation. He would also be able to talk to Sherlock more. Securing his own place, she was certain.  

Sherlock hoped that it would work out as well as Anthea had it planned out. He now needed to really start composing what it was he would be saying to John since it would be happening sooner than he had imagined it would be.

Anthea went off to go get ready and was sure to grad another phone and to set in her number, Sherlock’s, and Mycroft’s number. She would probably also put in an explanation. She would possibly wrap it like a present? He wasn’t sure. He would ask about it otherwise or potentially pull it out in front of the cameras and that could be disastrous. She would come up with something brilliant he was certain.

John arrived looking for all the world ready to take on all of China. He was dressed in Jeans and a nice tight long sleeve black shirt. He was clearly ready for a nice date, but also a decently active one. What if John was angry that he was taking away the chance to actually be with Anthea? Though, that would be Anthea’s choice not his. He would have to talk to her about that… Which he probably would. If he convinced her to stay and really compete Sherlock wouldn’t really be much of a competitor.

Anthea walked down the stairs looking for all the world like she could rule it. She had her hair French braided and it fell over her right shoulder. She was also wearing nice dark, almost black jeans. Her shirt was a scoop necked red shirt that was plain though looked anything but on her. They walked out with a couple of cheery waves at everyone else.

There were a few disgusted sighs once the door had closed behind them. Amanda and Marissa immediately started to speak once they had gone. “Seriously does she have to be so damn perfect?” That was Marissa’s high pitched whine.

“She is clearly hiding something. She’s got fake boobs, or used to be a whore, or something!” That one was Amanda.

“Probably both! Do you see the way she flaunts herself? She’s basically asking for it from everyone. She’s a slut! It wouldn’t surprise me if she sleeps with her boss and if she slept with every single one of her teachers as well.” Marissa’s arms were crossed over her chest as though she were now trying to cover her self-consciousness.

Sherlock couldn’t take any more of their annoying bitching! He was really tired of their shit. All they did was complain. When they were actually right was one thing, but this time they were so far from wrong it wasn’t funny or even slightly amusing.

“There are so many things wrong with your statements. One, her breasts are real, you can tell because they are actually proportional to her body, unlike with the two of you. Also when wearing a bathing suit, both of you have the scars of breast augmentation surgery while she does not. If you would like to hide it, wear less revealing swimsuit tops. Next, Marissa! You are the one who slept her way through bosses and teachers to make it in the world. So before you throw stones, maybe you should look in a mirror. And, last but not even close to least. Amanda… you came on a dating show to date one man. That man is John Watson if I’m not mistaken.” At this point Sherlock leans in close and whispers into her ear a last sentence. “So why are you sleeping with Ryan?”

Both girls looked at each other completely colorless and bolted from the room. They clearly had a lot to think about. Sherlock took great pleasure in what he said. He hadn’t felt that good about pissing people off since the cabbie case. It had been awhile since his last good murder and solving spree. That tended to be when he pissed off Anderson and Donovan and Lestrade. In return he got a high off of solving a case. It was a lovely reward system. This time he had to play along so he didn’t get to go chasing across London and get his high. He had to wait it out which was getting intolerable. That was his tiny little bit to hold him over hopefully.

Luckily many of the people left in the room besides Ryan and Kayla who were very close to both of the girls were looking at him with something akin to awe. Kathleen was actually the first one to speak. “Okay, seriously how did you do that? I’ve tried almost everything to get them to shut up and they haven’t ever listened to a word I said.”

“I just used what they were vulnerable about. It was clearly what they were throwing around. They were only using certain insults for a reason. It wasn’t hard to pick them out.” Sherlock let the words exit his mouth on a sigh. It was boring to explain it all. It was nice to have them all be awed by his deductions, but it wasn’t the same for some reason. Usually he would have preened under having anyone actually like his deductions at all. After having John enjoy them though and praise him it was hard to get any kind of real enjoyment out of it all from these other peopl.

He was still confident enough in his abilities to know that they were worthy of the praise and to soak himself in it, but he didn’t need it nearly as much as he had once thought he had. John had done a lot for him in a very short period of time. That was worrying. More than that it was very much worrying that John was not there only for Sherlock like Sherlock was for him.

Who was to say that John was actually going to end up wanting to be with Sherlock Holmes in the end?

 

Anthea of course was smiling at the way John was leading her shyly to the car. She knew that she looked fantastic. As she had meant to. She did want John to offer her the rose after all. It would be rather bad form if she came out to get him to give her the rose and get him the phone and get him involved in their investigation and ended up getting sent home. John was a nice man all around. They could enjoy the day out even if she had absolutely no romantic leanings toward him. She might have tried for him if she had wanted to. Though she really had no need of it. John was clearly smitten over Sherlock and Sherlock was falling hard for John even if he would undoubtedly be the last one to ever admit it.

She would never try and take that from him. Plus, she planned to make Sherlock introduce her to that detective inspector once they got back to London as her next favor. He had been divorced long enough and clearly he was ready to move on, she had always fancied older men after all.  

Once they were in the car and they were well on their way Anthea felt like she should start off the conversation. “So, are you going to tell me where we’re going? Or is it meant to be a surprise?”

“I’m actually not even sure. I think you are probably the first person to even ask. I think everyone just assumes that with a dating show it has to be a surprise and so they don’t ask. They didn’t say I couldn’t tell you what I had planned though. We’re going to The Great Wall. I know it’s clichéd, but I thought you’d really enjoy the environment and walking along that much history.” John explained. After the bit of rambling in the beginning of the sentence he was fine by the end of it.

“Oh! Nice choice, John! The way the entire thing is constructed is absolutely a marvel. It’s amazing how much went into such a structure and the fact that it’s still around today and still so perfectly maintained.” Anthea trailed off. She had been there before of course, but never in any sort of civilian capacity. She’d never let John know that though, he’d feel badly and that was the last thing she wanted at this point.

“Something told me you might find this all interesting.” John said hoping she would see the compliment.

“Thank you for all of the thought you put in, John. You really are quite lovely.” Anthea gave him a smile that could melt anyone.  

The rest of the car ride passed quickly. The spoke about inconsequential things. Just about what kinds of things they could see in China today. They hadn’t wanted it to be completely cleared of people. John had wanted to be able to experience some of the culture as well.

He was more than certain that Anthea would enjoy having some of the tourists and Chinese natives surrounding them along the wall. He wanted to see her interacting with them as well. He was sure that she would thrive just as she had in every other situation that she has been in. They would walk along the wall and experience some of the rich and historic culture that it was built from. Then they would hopefully have a lovely dinner ending with a rose.  

Once they got there they both got out and looked at the enormous structure teeming with people of all types. It was much more vibrant than he had expected. It was quite shocking to be honest. Who would expect such a historic landmark to be so bright and glowing in the sunny day? Especially something that stretched across so much of China.

“Wow…” John said without even thinking about it.

“You said it, not me.” Anthea replied lightning fast which sent them both laughing.

“Alright, well we might as well just kind of, um, go for it?” he wasn’t confident when he said it even though he tried to project confidence in his tone. He was a Londoner through and through. He might have been to war, but he really didn’t know how to get along with complete strangers with a huge language barrier.

“Yes, let’s.” Anthea said. She actually did project all smooth confidence. She could get along in foreign country. Or in any kind of situation she was put in. it was all part of her training. She could speak any language that was needed and she could play any part that a certain situation warranted.

The walked off toward the smaller gather of crowds than there would have usually been. The studio didn’t block out everyone, but they did keep out the insane amount of tourist that would have usually been there. That left a larger group of native Chinese people. The crowds weren’t nearly as crushing as they could have been. The camera crew still needed to be able to maneuver after all.

Once they made it up on top of the wall was kind of a hectic mess. John was surprised to find himself relax a bit at the chaos that surrounded him. When Anthea noticed John’s reactions to the scene around him she knew that this soldier, this army doctor would be a perfect match for Sherlock. This man thrived on the adrenaline. It wasn’t something that he wanted to cut out of his life and settled down and have couple of kids. John would never want something so trivial. At least that was Anthea’s professional opinion and from her standpoint in Sherlock’s cheering section, so she may be a bit biased, but she didn’t think she was wrong.

They moved through the crowds along the wall with ease mostly it was John following Anthea. People moved out of her way. She held to his free hand and never pushed the pace, which he was wonderfully grateful for. She was a natural at this. She even spoke Chinese fluently! The first time she had opened her mouth John had been completely in shock. It was a wonder watching her interact with the people.

“You are incredible.” John commented.

“I’ve moved around a lot. Also, my parents refused to allow me to go to a new place and not learn the language. So as soon as we learned where, we picked up the books and started learning. I had to pick it up quickly.” Anthea laughed. “My dad was basically a linguist. So he started to only speak that language. If I wanted to talk to him at all then I had to study up.”

Parts of this were true and parts were made up. She did have to learn languages quickly and it was basically immersion learning for her. But it wasn’t because of her parents. She had been training for years and years to be the type of information gathering agent that she has become today. Mycroft wouldn’t know half of what he does without her. She knew how good she was and she prided herself on it. It was not because of her parents. She had a rather mundane childhood, though she was sure her parents would categorize her as anything but if they were still around today.

They had a good time walking along the wall and looking at of the sights that were on display. It wasn’t all too much of a grand adventure for John since he actually had no idea what was being said ninety percent of the time. Anthea was fantastic. She was getting along very well with all of it. Though John was basically just along for the ride at this point. She did make sure to include him in any conversation she started up with a tourist or a native. Once they ran across a couple from Germany who spoke only German, of course. They were trying to get directions from someone and were failing miserable. Anthea managed to switch between German and Chinese flawlessly in order to translate for the couple who moved happily on their way after thanking her profusely.  

Once the two finally finished walking along the section of the wall that had been mapped out for the two of them on their date they sat on a secluded section of the wall that had been sectioned off exclusively for them and this date. They sat and enjoyed the gorgeous view that was spread out before them as the sun started to set. It wasn’t fully down yet as they still had a bit of time before dinner, so sitting there, enjoying the view and the company was a great way to spend some of their extra time.

When they were finally getting ready to leave Anthea turned to John, “This date has been absolutely wonderful so far. I haven’t enjoyed myself quite like this in a long time.”

He blushed. Of course he blushed. Probably the most beautiful woman that he would ever meet was standing in front of him and just told him that she was having a wonderful time on a date with him. “Oh, uhm, well it isn’t over yet! We still do have a lovely dinner to look forward to!”

“Well, you certainly do know how to spoil a girl, John. A bit of sight seeing and dinner as well. Who could resist?” She took his arm and they started walking back towards the car that would take them to the restaurant that they had booked for just themselves tonight.

When they finally made it to the restaurant John noticed right away that the rose was on the table. Of course he had basically already decided that he was going to give it to her, so it wasn’t putting any extra pressure on him at this point, but he wasn’t sure if she was feeling the same way. So far she had seemed so completely unflappable it would surprise him that a simple rose would do her in.

They chatted through the amazing dinner. The show really did go all out when they planned these things. Since they had all the allergy information John let them plan all of the meals. It felt natural between them. It was good conversation it wasn’t anything too deep. When they got to the things like Harry and her drinking or his dad and how he was uncomfortable with John’s sexuality Anthea clearly read him well and changed the subject.

By the time the night wound down John had completely forgotten that he hadn’t given her the rose. Until she spoke that was. “So, are you just going to keep me waiting on pins and needles all night, John?”

“What?” John asked startled by the suddenness of it all.

Anthea motioned to the rose sitting there in the middle of the table. It was such an innocent looking thing and yet it meant such a large, meaningful thing in these circumstances. “Oh, right! I forgot about that bit, huh?” John carefully picked up the rose and held it between his thumb and forefinger. “Anthea, I’ve had a really lovely time with you. I’d love to continue to get to know you better. Would you accept this rose?”

“Of course John, I would love to. I actually have something for you as well. It’s just a small little journal. I figured that if you end up picking me we can fill it with our dates. And if not then it’s just a useful journal. You are a doctor after all.” Anthea slid the small journal out of the inside pocket of her coat. It was small and useful looking. Something John easily would have picked for himself.  

He took ahold of it from her hands as she knew he would and flipped through the pages. She had made sure that the middle of the journal was hollowed out and yet stuck together. It was there that she hid the phone for him and a small note explaining it. The pages just all clumped when he flipped them. It was a normal thing so he thought nothing of it at the moment and just tucked it away. “Thank you, Anthea! It’s wonderful. I’m sure I’ll use it no matter the outcome.”

She felt like at this point it would have been when he would go in for a kiss. He was about to. She could tell. She had given him a gift that basically screamed kiss me unless she did something else to say that maybe she wasn’t ready for him to kiss her. She leaned forward before he could and planted a long kiss on his cheek. “Really, thank you John. This has all been so wonderful.”

They walked back to the car hand in hand and let the driver take them back to the hotel. They parted comfortably at the entrance to Anthea’s suite entrance. She hoped that once John made it back to his room that he would take out the journal and inspect it just like most anyone else who had just received a gift would. If that was the case, which she sincerely hoped that it would be, then she should be expecting him to text her in less than an hour. So she should warn Sherlock that he should be getting a text after her conversation with him.

**I gave him the phone. We just got back. He hasn’t texted me yet though so I would say that you have at least two hours before he texts you about it. – A**

_All right. Thanks for the warning. I didn’t plan to sleep tonight anyway. – SH_

Anthea knew that Sherlock rarely slept on his best nights. Let alone when something interesting like a case was happening. This was all so new for him that she was certain that he had worked himself up into not sleeping at all. If he was pacing his room that wouldn’t even be far off of a guess.

Anthea started changing and getting herself ready for bed, but of course she knew that she couldn’t sleep until she got the text that she was waiting for. She had to wait and hear from John. This was all Sherlock’s plan, but she knew that it meant quite a bit more to him that a simple scheme would in any normal circumstances.    

 

John got back to his rooms and wanted to just jump into bed. He felt exhausted. He would probably get used to the travelling and the crazy schedule one of these days, but tonight wasn’t it. He had been so sure that his date with Anthea had been great and then she had clearly rejected his kiss. She had read him well all evening. So she had known that he was planning to kiss her and then she went and kissed his cheek instead. So that definitely meant something. And it wasn’t exactly something all around positive if John was being honest.

Then again Anthea had given him that Journal as a gift. He took it out again now and went to flip through it again instead of flopping himself down on his bed as he had wanted to. When he flipped through the pages again it did the exact same thing as it had done before. The entire middle section was completely clumped together. This time though he decided to take a closer look. Sometimes pages got stuck, it wasn’t so out of the ordinary. What he did find in the journal was actually very much out of the ordinary. It was so much so that John just sat there and stared for a few moments not actually touching anything.

When John had managed to pull apart the pages he had found a note with his name on it and a cell phone. It was extremely slim. It was so slim that he was entirely sure that he was going to break it if he did actually pick it up. He tentatively reached for the note first. He was sure that it had to be from Anthea, he just wasn’t sure what to expect it to say.

John-

I’m sure you must be more than a bit confused at the moment. There are two numbers already programed into the phone. Mine and Sherlock’s. We came here to try and find a killer. They are here on the show. One of the contestants or a member of the crew. Text me and I’ll explain it to you the best that I can.

  * Anthea



John stared at the note for a few more minutes and then read it again and again trying to make sense of it. He wasn’t even all that shocked or hurt by the idea of Anthea not being in this for him. He had always had the idea that Anthea wasn’t always completely there in his time with her. She had always seemed to be surveying the world around them in a way that now completely made sense. What really sucked about all this was the fact that maybe Sherlock had been playing him this entire time just to catch a killer. Sherlock had said that he would do anything for a case. Well maybe that included leading John on.

He was decided. He would text Anthea first. He would at the very least get the full story before he went and blew up at Sherlock. He wanted to know the facts so that he would actually have something to bring up to the man. When he slipped the phone into his hand and opened it he almost chickened out. He wanted to put this all off. He didn’t want to make this all real. If he was about to find out that Sherlock and Anthea were here on some case and not here for him at all. That was going to suck.

**So explain then. – JW**

_I’ve been waiting for your text. Thank you for not just tossing me off the show, John. – A_

**That doesn’t explain anything. – JW**

_Where should I start then? – A_

**Try the beginning, Anthea. Are you and Sherlock both just playing me? Just here for some damn case? Neither of you are here for me at all are you? – JW**

_I’ll be completely honest with you. It was Sherlock’s idea to pull you into the case. He honestly wants to be here regardless of this having started off for a case, but you can hear that from him later. I’m sure you’ll text him after me. As for me, no, John, I’m not in this to win your heart, but I do quiet like you. You are a wonderful person. I’m here to catch a killer though. – A_

**Thanks for your honesty even if it’s hard to hear. So to catch a killer. Fill me in. – JW**

_There have been six so far on different reality shows. All of them managed to escape the cameras and getting caught. Each person was murdered in a different way, but was then stabbed through the heart and had blue ribbon under the knife. We have solid intel that the next will be on this show. – A_

**All right. That’s well, a bit not good. Any suspects then? – JW**

_We really only have one. Mary is our best suspect at the moment. She has some inconsistencies in her background that don’t seem right. It doesn’t all add up though. That’s why we wanted to get you to help. – A_

**And how could I help? – JW**

_Well you see them at different times. And you have ruling over the dates. So you could set up certain things that could test aspects that are contradictory. – A_

**Just let me know what you need. I’d be happy to help. I don’t want anyone to die, obviously. No matter how much it hurts my love life. You and Sherlock were in the top people. – JW**

_Well, while I might not be anymore, I would be happy to stay around until the murderer is caught. Though I do understand your anger. I know that this is upsetting. Don’t take Sherlock out of the running though. Talk to him first. Hear him out. – A_

**Okay, I’ll talk to him. I’m not making promises though. – JW**

John watched as the screen of his phone went black. It wasn’t all that surprising to hear that Anthea wasn’t in this competition all for his love. It wasn’t like he had expected them all to have completely pure desires coming into this thing. He had expected a lot more of them to be out for fame or something than there have been. Anthea at least had a mostly noble reason for scamming her way onto the show. She had been charming, but still closer to friendly than overly hitting on him like some of the others have been.

Now John had to steel himself to have a conversation with a man that he had kissed and that he honestly and truly wanted to keep around not just ‘to get to know him better’. This was purely because John enjoyed every moment that he had spent with Sherlock so far.

He didn’t even know what to say to the man. He hadn’t really second guessed his opening line with Anthea. Now that it was time to text Sherlock though, he was drawing a blank. He didn’t want to start off hostile. He was a bit pissed though. He didn’t want to just jump straight to the case, because he did want to actually know if the man had any vested interest in this at all. John had to look at this on a rational standpoint. Someone was out here potentially trying to murder someone. That should come first, shouldn’t it? This time John really did flop down on his bed, nice suit, shoes, and all.

 

Sherlock on the other had was just about to drop the whole phone idea and just go find his room and knock on his door. He had gotten the text from Anthea almost an hour ago that John had texted her and that they had had a fairly short conversation about it all. Which meant that his conversation might be longer, or might be even shorter. He wasn’t quite sure which at the moment.

As John still had yet to text him, he was almost betting on the latter. He knew that this had been bound to mess things up. John wasn’t exactly one for having people lie to him. So Sherlock had figured it could have royally screwed things up, but he couldn’t take the risk on not catching the killer either. John wouldn’t have forgiven him that, he had known that much about the man at least. This way the odds were better, still not good, but better.

Sherlock honestly couldn’t stand it anymore. He had never had a more restless night. Yes, he was including all of his attempts at outwaiting Mycroft’s games. None of them compared to this. It was torture waiting on the damn phone to light up.

**John, if you intend to send me home, just go ahead and do it. I would rather not have to wait for the audience to wake up. – SH**

_What? You haven’t deduced our whole conversation? – JW_

**No, not my area. Remember? – SH**

_Well, for the record, it’s bad form to come on a dating show for a murder. – JW_

**Noted, I will try not to delete it. You do know that it was important for us to come? Someone could potentially be killed by one or more of the cast or crew of this show and they have gotten away with it six times already. – SH**

_So this really is what you do… So there is a murderer here. Any idea on who might be targeted as the victim? – JW_

**No, none of the victims have had anything in common. So it could be anyone. Usually it’s a contestant though. As far as we have seen it’s always been someone noticeable. Though the murderer has always gotten away with it. - SH**

_Right, that was the same kind of things that Anthea said. All rather horrible. Well, like I told her I’m willing to help out. You’ll just have to let me know what to do. – JW_

**So, you aren’t mad then? – SH**

_Of course I’m mad. Was this all just for the damn case? Was any of it real? – JW_

**No. I can honestly say that I hadn’t expected to come in and actually not be bored to death by you. I had prepared to be sent home that first night. You were unexpected, John. – SH**

_So, you’re saying that it was all for the case, and then you met me and changed your mind? Do you realize how cliché that sounds? – JW_

**Yes, but that pretty much sums it up. I hadn’t planned on meeting someone who could even tolerate me for more than a day. You, however, seem to actually enjoy my company. That’s more than rare for me. – SH**

_Right, okay. So you came to catch a murderer. If you had already caught them would you have left or stayed? – JW_

**I would have stayed, John. I decided right away that you weren’t a killer and after that it wasn’t hard to like you. It was actually remarkably easy. It didn’t take long before Anthea called me on it and told me that I needed to actually make a play for you. And I’ve actually been trying ever since. Even if I have no idea how to get along or flirt with people at all. – SH**

_Well you seem to be doing pretty well if you ask me. I have to ask… was the kiss real? – JW_

**Yes, don’t doubt anything about that, John. I wouldn’t have kissed you if I hadn’t wanted to and meant it. Like I said, not my area. Meaning I don’t exactly have much experience to draw on. – SH**

_So, I’m your first kiss? Is that what you’re saying? – JW_

**You weren’t the first technically. Though, you were the first that I actually enjoyed. Every other kiss I would do anything to avoid doing it again. With you, I can’t stop thinking about it. – SH**

_Really? I can’t help but feel a bit skeptical. I mean this is a lot, Sherlock. – JW_

**I know. And I am sorry about that. I have amazing control over my thoughts, but from day one you got in there and I couldn’t get you out.  I’ve tried, but when I do I keep replaying the kisses and I want to do it again. – SH**

_I know the feeling. You’ve been on my mind since that first night too. You’re different than anyone else. I want to kiss you again as well. – JW_

**So, does this mean you don’t plan on eliminating me and never speaking to me again? – SH**

_How about you deduce that one for yourself the next time we see each other. Goodnight, Sherlock. – JW_

Sherlock stared at John’s last message and he had a small bubble of hope sitting in his gut, but he wasn’t going to rule out John making him leave. He doesn’t want to go of course, but this was a lot to drop on John right off. It could ruin his chances. He sent another message to Anthea letting her know that it wasn’t completely settled, but that they had talked and then he finally climbed into bed even though he wouldn’t be sleeping at all. He just disappeared into his mind palace and went over every interaction he has had with John so far. It was a lot of information and he couldn’t delete any of it. John was going to have to take up a whole room all his own inside the palace. Maybe even an entire wing of the place. 

John on the other hand stared at the phone for long moments. He knew that minutes had passed, but he couldn’t look away. This whole thing had gone to a place he hadn’t expected it to. He should still be furious at Sherlock, but he feels as though the next time John sees him, he’ll just want to kiss the man more. He always handled things on his own, but he figured he might need some advice on this one. John decided that he might as well take another chance by asking Anthea.

_If I ask you something, will you actually answer me honestly? – JW_

**Unless it’s a threat to national security I can mostly guarantee an honest answer. –A**

_Will I get hurt if I trust Sherlock on this? – JW_

**There’s always a chance John. I can’t promise that you two would live in a fairy tale. Just ask yourself this, will you regret it if you send him home? Will you always question ‘what if’? A chance at happiness comes with a chance of pain. It’s a bit of a leap of faith. I can tell you that I haven’t ever seen Sherlock this interested in someone. His interest is rarely held for more than a few hours at best. Could you find someone else who challenges you as much as he would? You’re a soldier John, you’ve never wanted safe and boring. – A**

It was clear that Anthea didn’t expect a response and he didn’t feel ready to give one. John let out a ridiculous sigh. This was more than he had expected when he came onto the show. The rude people, the drama, sure, but this? This, where the front runner in John’s mind was actually here first and foremost to solve a murder case.

John thought over what Anthea had said a thousand times before he was able to fall asleep. Would he regret it? John thought of Sherlock’s deductions, the way the excitement showed on his face when he solved a puzzle, the way that he could understand so much about everyone else, but not see his own charms. Then John though about never seeing those things or his manic smile again, never being able to touch the man or kiss him again and his decision was made for him. He couldn’t watch the man walk out of his life knowing he would be losing all of that.

 

The next day was the group date. It was going to be interesting with Sherlock there. John was anxious to see him. He wanted to see how Sherlock would be acting towards him, but he was also nervous about seeing him and possibly having the man be not as interested in him anymore. This was going to be the weirdest part, but John could get through it. He paced and paced and didn’t know what to do with himself while he waited for the time to come. He got bored quickly and started to actually write about all of this on his blog. Currently it was on a private setting. So no one would be able to read it but himself.

In the main common area everyone was gathered waiting for the next date card to be dropped off. It would be the day for the group date. Sherlock couldn’t stop twitching. He knows that he probably looks worse than usual. He didn’t sleep at all last night and it was getting to him more than it ever had before. He was sitting in the chair farthest away from the others as he could get. Kathleen stopped over after she had noticed him.

“Hi, Sherlock. I know you aren’t the most social one, but you seem worse than usual today. Is something wrong?” Kathleen was clearly every bit the teacher she claimed to be. She talked as though she was used to hearing about personal issues.

“I’m fine. I just didn’t sleep well.” It was true, even if it wasn’t the full version.

“Well I’m sure that once you see John you’ll wake up.” Her voice was carefully not overly happy and perky.

“Hmm. I’m not sure if I’ll even be on the date.” Sherlock spoke curtly. It actually wasn’t meant to be rude, but he actually wasn’t sure and that bothered him.

“Breathe, Sherlock. You’ll be fine.” She had faith that he was going to be getting a date this week. Though she didn’t know everything about the situation he was in.

After Kathleen walked away Anthea came over and leaned against the wall next to his chair. “You look worse than usual after not sleeping. Was it because of the conversation?”

“Yes,” Sherlock gritted out between his teeth. “I don’t know where I stand. He could still send me home.”

“In my personal opinion, I don’t think you’re going anywhere. Sherlock, how often am I wrong?” Anthea asked after she saw that she didn’t get through with the first comment.

“I think I’ve only see you predict wrong on two occasions.” Sherlock had once decided to do exactly the opposite knowing she would never have guessed. And the other was when she had assumed that all of the Scotland Yarders were useless, Lestrade had caught her attention after all.

“See, so that is very rare. And this time I’m certain about it. Trust me.” She patted his shoulder very very briefly. She knows he’s not the biggest fan of physical contact, but she isn’t a complete stranger so she thought she hadn’t overstepped.

It was another few minutes before Marcus came sweeping into the room with an overly happy greeting. He dropped the date card and swept out just as quickly as he had come. This time it was Amanda who grabbed up the card. She wanted to be in the center of attention.

“It’s the group date everyone… Elizabeth, Marissa, Kayla, Veronica, Me, Kevin, Derek, Spencer, Ian, Joseph, Ryan, and Sherlock. Join me for a cuppa. – John” Amanda had squealed when she said herself, and she had almost sneered in disdain as she had said Sherlock’s name. Now that she was done reading though she was squealing again. She was in her little group of shallow girls and they were all talking rapidly. All at once they started running upstairs to get ready.

Sherlock was still in his lounge pants this time around so he needed to change as well. He swapped his comfortable clothes out for black slacks, his deep purple button down shirt tucked in, and his black coat. It was simple, but it was him. Again, nothing about the date clue had seemed to read like they were going someplace especially fancy or casual so he figured this outfit would be fine. While he was still in the restroom he felt the small vibration of his phone.

_I told you so. So go out there and flirt and make sure he doesn’t regret it. Make sure he knows it was the best possible choice to keep you around. – A_

Sherlock let a small smile settle onto his face and hid away his phone again without replying. He didn’t need to tell Anthea to study the small amount of people she would be home with while she could. He splashed some water on his face and headed back downstairs. Once he got there he realized he was still one of the first ones back down. Kevin, Derek, and Spencer were the only ones who had beaten him back down. It didn’t take long before John was there and the waiting game for the girls began. It was just Amanda, Kayla, and Marissa left up there.

John had chosen to sit next to Mary and Sarah as they were two women who weren’t going on the date and the last one- on- one would be with a man. Which meant more than likely that Ben would be the one with that date. Considering he was the only man left off the group date. Sherlock was studying the man. He didn’t seem to be avoiding Sherlock, but he wasn’t really paying him any specific attention either. He had no idea how regular people did this kind of thing on a daily basis, it was exhausting.

The three girls finally made their way down and they were a bit of a scene. All three of them were in short body tight dresses. They looked like if they were to move too much they would be showing even more than intended. They were all also wearing at least four inch high heels. They looked ridiculous. Sherlock couldn’t hold in a huge eye roll. It was impossible. Kathleen and Sarah and Anthea all saw him and they shared a smile at him. They were clearly on the same page as he was.

Sherlock glanced at John again and the ex- army doctor was clearly admiring the women. Which boiled under Sherlock’s skin.  It was a spectacle and Sherlock wanted to draw John’s attention away from the three of them and keep it all to himself. Sarah went about the effort of clearing her throat which broke the spell. Finally.

John stood up and glanced around the room. He saw all the faces that he was expecting so he spoke to the room. “All ready everyone? Then let’s head out, we have a busy day ahead of us. They all climbed into the two separate town cars again and even though Sherlock tried to get into the same car as John he ended up in the second. Amanda, Marissa, Kayla, Ryan, and Kevin were all in the same car. In the car with Sherlock was Derek, Elizabeth, Ian, Spencer, Joseph, and Veronica. Ian and Joseph were going back and forth bickering over something that they were both wrong about. Elizabeth was talking with Veronica. Veronica was bemoaning the fact that it seemed as though Marissa, Amanda, and Kayla had left her out. Derek and Spencer were talking and they managed to draw Sherlock into the conversation.

“I wish it wasn’t such a big thing to have to compete on the group dates.” Spencer was the one who was speaking. Clearly Derek was a very competitive person, he wouldn’t mind the challenge.

“Why? Competitions can be fun.” Derek of course proved Sherlock’s point.

“They want the added drama. This is a reality show after all. Everyone wants to see drama on the show. They all want to see people fighting and getting mad at each other and gossiping about one another. What would a dating show be without those aspects?” Sherlock broke into their conversation. Spencer was smart, but he was never going to get to the point.

“I just don’t want it to be something physically based. I’m not exactly one for running around. Give me a good chess game and I’ll be fine though.” Spencer was frowning now. He must have just realized that not all the contests would be trivia like the first one.

“I’d love to have some kind of competition with strength involved. Or playing a sport. We could all have a game of rugby or something.” Derek and Spencer were on two completely separate wave lengths about it all.

“I doubt anything would be so mismatched when there are going to be both men and women competing.” His tone was bored. He was bored. He was only involving himself in the conversation because he needed to stop thinking about how John was treating him.

If John was okay with it all and was planning on keeping him, Sherlock had expected that John would have been happier to see him, but John barely looked his way. It was more than a bit disheartening. He hadn’t ever been in this sort of position. If someone was mad at him or didn’t like him, more often than not he didn’t care. John was different. John was mad and upset and that was the worst thing ever. Sherlock checked out of the conversation as the car continued down the road.

There was no way to stop himself from imagining the kinds of conversations that were happening in the other car. With those three girls all dressed in the smallest about of fabric as possible it was anyone’s guess. Ryan was in there as well. John could easily be falling for their looks and their charms, though Sherlock seemed to think they lacked the charms all around. Sherlock has never been considered classically good looking like most of the people now vying for John’s attention. It was hard to compete with that when he had also pissed the man off.

If John didn’t want to talk to him today and just let everything be completely neutral then Sherlock would text him that night again and ask him if John preferred if he left. He would have to. He couldn’t just be here and not make a play for John. So he would have to leave if John didn’t want him around. He had made his decision and finalized those plans in his head just a minute before they were pulling up outside of the gorgeous Forbidden City, which Sherlock knew included the museum he would love to explore.

They all got out of the cars and looked around the area. It was a beautiful area. The building itself was imposing and yet regal. Sherlock was pointedly watching the other car as Ryan exited first. Kevin followed soon after and then John stepped out. The man still didn’t look towards Sherlock, but he did turn around to help Amanda, Kayla, and Marissa out of the car in that order. Sherlock was seething he thought that since he had still been invited on the date that John was willing to understand the circumstances. Apparently though that might not be true. Now he was going to have to suck it up and deal with this annoying group date before he could even say anything to the man about it. Sherlock didn’t want to make any more of a spectacle of himself on television. And if he said something that would definitely cause a scene.

They all made their way inside, Marissa was on John’s left side avoiding his right where John held his cane. She kept rubbing her hand over his shoulder as though she was staking a claim like a dog in heat. It was disgusting. Sherlock stalked inside keeping to the outer edges of the group. If he could avoid seeing them together as much as he could then he would take that option.

There was a smiling group of three right outside the entrance to greet them. First came a man speaking a formal greeting to them and the second woman translated. He welcomed them to China and to the Forbidden City. He said that he was happy to be sharing their culture with the world. Sherlock didn’t need a translator, but he listened along anyway. Anything to keep his mind off of John Watson.

That was when the man introduced the woman standing a bit behind the other two. Soo Lin stood there in sedate clothing with her head bowed, clearly she was not one for being in the spotlight. The man and woman who was translating both bowed to them and Sherlock made sure to reciprocate the gesture even if no one else did. It was a sign of respect after all. That finally got John to look at him, along with the rest of the crowd around him. He did get smiles from the man, woman, and Soo Lin, which was a small victory as no one else did.

Soo Lin stepped forward and proceeded to explain what they were doing there. “We are here to have a contest to decide which six of you will be continuing on the date with John. You will all be participating in completing the tea ceremony. It is a tradition in our culture, it is typically performed as a marriage ceremony, but this is also used to keep the teapots from cracking in their traditionally made clay. They are not for just sitting in a case to admire. I will show you a demonstration of it and then you will attempt to replicate it.” Soo Lin stopped speaking and motioned for John to continue his explanation.

“So there will be two teams of six. You will all have a station of replica teapots to look at and practice on for a few minutes with your team. Then you will all have to decide who will be the best choice to compete against the other team. It would have been individual, but these are very delicate items and they only have enough of the real teapots for this competition for the two teams to challenge each other. Is everyone excited to learn about this amazing tradition?” John spoke clear and crisp, though he still avoided any eye contact with Sherlock. John glanced at Derek who was directly to his left and yet still avoided glancing at him for even a moment.

Most all of the women made excited noises, including annoying giggles exiting their mouths. The men on the other hand mostly just nodded their agreement. Sherlock stayed still. “Okay, Soo Lin will demonstrate and then I’ll break you into your groups.” He moved off to the side and gave the floor to Soo Lin who pulled out a set of very delicate teacups.

Soo Lin must have completed this tradition hundreds of times. Her movements were so natural. There was no nervous energy in handling such delicate objects. Sherlock had seen the ritual completed before so he knew what he was getting into. He looked around and saw everyone studying the woman in front of them. Sherlock made sure to categorize her exact moves and memorized the slow, careful, and caring way she touched the teacups. He would be able to do this. He would win this and then John would have to speak to him. Even if it was just to keep up appearances to the show.

Once Soo Lin was finished she made sure to show them that the teapot she had finished with was shining and more beautiful than when she had started. That would be the final product that she would be looking for along with the correct movements and order they would be completed in. She showed them to the stations set up with plastic versions and they were simply filled with water.

“Okay, ladies and gentlemen, on each side there are six practice stations. So one group will be on each side. You should watch each other to decide who will be the best one to help your team win the extra time on this date. Sadly, the team that loses will have to head back to the hotel earlier than planned.” John waited for the claps and then the groans to die down before announcing the groups. “So on group one over here on the left will be Veronica, Elizabeth, Kevin, Ian, Spencer, and Joseph. Which means that the rest of you will be in group two on the right side.”

Sherlock let a small scowl take over his face. The only tolerable person on his team was Derek. Which was saying something. Amanda, Marissa, Kayla, and Ryan all grouped around and were smiling at being on the same team. They grabbed the practice sets all next to each other. Derek and Sherlock were stuck on the very end as far away from John and Soo Lin as they could get.

“You all have ten minutes to practice and then you’ll have to get with your team members and choose who you want to compete. After that Soo Lin will be the judge of who wins this challenge. Are you ready? Go!” John made sure to pour excitement into his voice. He was watching to see who might be a natural at the task. He had figured from the moment Sherlock had bowed that he knew more about the customs here than any of the rest of them so of course he would do well. The question was if his team would even let him go up to compete.

John tried to avoid glancing at Sherlock. He had been working at it all day. It was a task that required so much of his will power. Especially with the way Sherlock looked today. That purple shirt on him made his pale skin stand out even more and it made his eyes seem more intense and the rest of his body more defined and sharply focused. It was hard to keep his eyes steadily away from the man. John noticed that every time Sherlock looked at him he could feel the weight of those intense eyes on him. He made sure that he wasn’t looking at the man in those moments.

If he was anywhere close to looking he would make sure to look back at Amanda or Marissa and smile at them. He had looked a few times though. He didn’t have infinite will power. Now that everyone was focusing on practicing he had the freedom to look around. The team that he had stuck Sherlock with was probably the man’s worst nightmare. If Sherlock and his team were to win though it would work out the way John had thought of the night before. He had a plan for that night if Sherlock’s team won and he wasn’t going to chicken out of doing it.

There was a loud sound and everyone looked towards it. Kayla had dropped one of her practice teapots, which was the reason for the practice ones, and it would make her team very wary of putting her out to compete. It was about a minute left during the practice period that he had allotted them all and he was glancing at his watch so he could call time once the hand ticked away those last seconds.

“Okay, everyone! Time’s up for practice. Now you all need to gather in your groups and pick who should be the competitor.” John gave the instructions and watched as they were followed.

Sherlock was standing in the middle of a group of mostly bickering, immature, horrible people. He didn’t even want to open his mouth. Amanda and Marissa were both cutting down Kayla for dropping that teapot and said that she would never be their choice. Ryan on the other hand was rallying a reason for himself to be the one to do it. Amanda was okay with that, but Marissa was very against it. She wanted it to be her. Derek was skeptically watching the fighting before letting out a piercing whistle.

“Guys! Not a single one of us even know the full tradition. I know I don’t. I know how to run groups of people, not how to handle artifacts. So I was watching all of you instead. Ryan all you did was transfer the tea back and forth. Kayla dropped one. Amanda all you did was swish the tea around and pour it straight out onto the tray. Marissa all you did was dump the tea out onto another teapot. None of those are the way it’s done. If we want to win, we need to go with Sherlock. He’s got the entire thing down.” Derek was whispering all of this, but his voice was still commanding enough that they were all listening.

Sherlock had no idea where the man was going with that at first, but it didn’t end the way he expected. He raised an eyebrow at the striking black man commanding the group of idiots. It was good that he said it. Sherlock would have insulted all of them a lot worse. “I’ll do it,” he finally spoke.

“Good. Then we should actually win instead of embarrass ourselves.” Derek spoke once again eyeing all of the rest of their group and making sure that none of them said anything. They all knew that they had done badly, so they really couldn’t argue against the choice though they looked amazingly unhappy about it.

“Don’t fuck it up, freak.” Amanda snarled at him. He had to control himself not to insult her back in a very loud voice.

“Does each group have one person picked out?” John asked a few tense moments later.

There was a chorus of ‘yes’ all around the room and so Soo Lin brought out the two real sets of teapots. She set them up to be directly across from one another. Sherlock stepped up to the display that was in front of his group and Elizabeth stepped up on the other side. It made sense they chose the woman with a child for her delicate touch.

“I will be watching both of you and after you have completed the ceremony then I will choose the winner. If you are both equally as good then it will come down to who finishes first. Are you both ready?” Soo Lin waited for nods from both of the contestants before she spoke again. “Begin now, please.”    

Sherlock went through the motions exactly how he knows them to be. He has them vivid in his head. He pulls them up one by one as he completes each movement. He makes sure to force himself to relax his movements as though he was playing his violin. This was as much an art form as his music was. It wasn’t the kind of performance made to be choppy and sectioned off, it should all flow together as one long piece of music.

He got towards the end of it and made sure to go slowly here as to not miss any spots on the teapot that wasn’t shining. He swirled the tea around counter clockwise five times and then put his hand on the lid of the teapot and proceeded to pour it over the dull one. He made sure that only a small steady stream of the tea was coming out of the pot he held. This way he made multiple passes over the teapot and it would be sure to cover it all and create the gleaming shine. He lifted the teapot straight up from the other and poured the small remaining onto the lid of the teapot to make sure that would be gleaming as well. It wouldn’t do to miss a spot.

Once he was finished he carefully set down the teapot he was holding and slowly lifted up the one that had just been treated. It was perfectly gleaming and so he held it out to Soo Lin who was watching both him and Elizabeth, with a small bow. She took it and bowed back in respect. He watched as she made sure to inspect each aspect of the teapot with careful hands. She set it back down with a carefully clear expression and then walked over to Elizabeth’s side where she had just finished. Sherlock studied the teapot that Elizabeth had presented and saw that while the teapot itself was fully gleaming the lid lacked the shine of the rest of it.

She finished inspecting that one as well and set it down in much the same fashion. She bowed to Elizabeth as well who fumbled to reply in kind. Soo Lin then turned and walked back to John’s side at the front of both groups. He was sure that there had been noise from both groups, but he had blocked it out to just complete the ritual.

“So, Soo Lin, do you have a winner for us today?” John asked the woman. She was very good at keeping a blank face. If Sherlock wasn’t as confident in his abilities then he would have been worried.

“Yes, while both competitors did very well with this ceremony, there was one whose movements were much more in the vein of the ritual tea ceremony and made sure the teapot would be admired by all. The group that wins this competition is… Sherlock’s group. Group two.” Soo Lin now let out a small smile at Sherlock. She was very impressed with how he had completed the ceremony.

The annoying people behind him were all cheering and celebrating as though they were the ones who had actually done any of the work. Derek at least came over with a large smile on his face and clapped him on the back. “I knew you were the right choice for this. I’m glad you were on our team.”

“Alright guys. So congratulations to team two. We will be leaving here shortly and heading out to the park overlooking this amazing place. It’s called Jingshan Park. It’s going to be a great night and we’ll have wine and good food waiting for us. Sadly, this means that team one, you guys will have to head back to the hotel tonight and that this is where the date ends for you six.” John always made sure to sound regretful when he said goodbye to half of the group. Though, he was perfectly fine having less people to deal with. Twelve of them and only one of him was some pretty crazy odds.

John spent a few minutes saying goodbyes to the losing team. And then called for the winning team to join him in the other car. Of course Sherlock attempted to be next to John, but the man was happy to help the women in first and so John ended up sitting between Amanda and Marissa on one side of the car. On the other side there was Ryan and Kayla taking up the seat. Stuck on the one that looked forward toward the driver was Sherlock and Derek.

He hadn’t even been congratulated by John. He had expected some kind of acknowledgement, but John had just congratulated the team as a whole. He was starting to wish that John would have just told him to leave last night. He would have done so. He would have been gone and out of the competition and he wouldn’t have to deal with this kind of public embarrassment. He had never cared about what other people thought of him, but this situation was a certain kind of exception.

Less than a week ago Sherlock and John had been kissing. Sherlock had thought that he might have finally found someone that wasn’t going to just run away from him after only being around him for a single day. Apparently everyone did have their lines in the sand. Sherlock must have crossed the one John had drawn and now he wasn’t going to be able to convince the soldier to keep him around.

John had told Sherlock that he hadn’t planned on kissing anyone so early on in the competition. What Sherlock had taken from that was that he was the only one that John had kissed so far. Sherlock came clean and told him about all of this, inviting him into their investigation. He had done so much worse than this before. If John couldn’t handle that bit of his life maybe John wasn’t who Sherlock thought he was.

Sherlock decided on the car ride. It was short but still resoundingly boring and Amanda and Marissa were both having a insipid conversation with John. It was boring and offensive and yet John seemed to be enjoying himself. Sherlock was tuning it all out. John had told Sherlock while they had been texting that Sherlock should deduce his answer the next time they saw each other. That was now and it all seemed to point to John not wanting Sherlock to stay.

 He would give it one last shot. This was the second part of the group date and it was where each contestant usually got alone time with John. If John chose not to come over to him then Sherlock would go and grab him and speak to him. Sherlock would give it a last shot at getting the man’s attention and his fingers were crossed it would work.

If all of his efforts tonight failed then Sherlock would text John after they all got back and tell the man that Sherlock would be gone in the morning. Or alternately he would just have Anthea tell him. It would probably be easier. He let out a small annoyed sound which luckily only Derek heard and decided to just think about the murder case the rest of the car ride.

Finally the car stopped outside of a gorgeous area. Once everyone climbed out they were greeted by two lovely women holding trays of wine and welcomed them to Jingshan Park. They led the way down into the open area of the park which had been emptied for them to all enjoy. They left quietly after that with two quick bows.  There was red wine in Sherlock’s glass. He was glad for it. He knew that it made his mouth look a much deeper color and hoped it would help with the plan. It would enhance his looks and the extra bit of alcohol in his system would give him a bit of courage to follow through.

As soon as they got there the women all set down their wine glasses on one of the many tables that littered the area to rush over to the view of the Forbidden City that they had just left. John followed soon after. Of course he went a bit more slowly with his cane. The girls all broke off soon after boring of the breathtaking view and taking more interest in each other, John, and their wine. There were smaller areas that branched off to the side which had seating areas and places that they could go and talk to John.

Since it wasn’t the middle of winter they could all see their breaths as the women rushed over to the fire pit that had been settled in the middle of a seating area for them to use. Ryan had left Derek and Sherlock standing there to join the party by the fire. Derek was looking around at the place before he finally decided to go for it as well.

“I’m going to go over then. Might as well right?” Derek spoke to him before holding up his glass in a toast.

Sherlock just gives a nod of his head and then looks back to the group. John was now up against the far bench of the seating area and he was facing towards Sherlock. The girls were all around him in a semicircle, but he only wanted John’s focus. Sherlock took a deep breath and threw back the rest of his wine in an attempt to gain some liquid courage.

Sherlock gathered up a second glass of wine and went to lean over the railing that surrounding the cliff face that let out over the view of the Forbidden City. It was a gorgeous sight even Sherlock couldn’t argue against that. Sherlock had seduced people before, never anyone he actually wanted to like him, but he had been successful. He knew how leaning over the railing as he was currently was highlighting the lines of his body. The arch of his back was emphasized and he knew exactly how it would look from where John was sitting. At least if John is looking at him anyway.

Once he drank another sip of his line, tilting his throat back to swallow the potent liquid Sherlock let his body stretch and then he risked a glance over at John. He honestly had to contain the smile that wanted to break out on his face. John was looking at him, and not just looking, but he was gazing in the same way that he had before he had kissed Sherlock. John’s eyes moved upward slightly and upon seeing that Sherlock was looking his way John blushed. It was a gorgeous pink color that just touched his cheeks. It was something that Sherlock wanted to see so much more of.

John of course tore his gaze away and moved it back to Marissa after being caught looking at Sherlock. Though Sherlock was hopeful that John would keep sneaking peeks at him as he stood there relaxing and taking in the sights. This time when Sherlock let his glance fall back over to the group of them all sitting there he once again saw John’s gaze riveted on him. This time Sherlock didn’t meet his eyes and make him turn away. Sherlock had noticed something else as well. Derek was also looking at him. It was similar to the way that John was looking at him and Sherlock decided to just go with it.

Derek had clearly never been attracted to someone like Sherlock. He was clearly more drawn to the athletic men like himself and like John. This was new to him, meaning that Sherlock had his full attention. Sherlock let his gaze meet Derek’s widened eyes and then he let a slow smile cross his lips. Sherlock knew that it was probably rude, but he was enjoying the way that Derek suddenly freaked out and turned away.

Sherlock let his eye flick back over to John. This time the look in the other man’s eyes had changed. He was still glancing at Sherlock hungrily, but he was also letting himself indulge in a few glares in Derek’s direction.  

This time when Sherlock turned away he allowed himself to smile. John was looking at him and it wasn’t in anger. Now he just had to actually talk to the man. Maybe he would be able to salvage this after all. It took Sherlock no time at all to finish off his second glass of wine and settle it down on a tray before making his way over to the group. Sherlock knew he couldn’t avoid the group forever. He decided that he needed a third glass of wine and with a quick look he noticed that both Ryan and Kayla were empty as well. He snatched up three glasses and presented the other two with theirs before sitting next to Derek.

Sherlock did of course notice the interested looks coming from his fellow contestants. None of them had been on the receiving end of any actually polite gestures from him, not really anyway. It was a bit odd for him to suddenly be bringing people wine. There was some interest in the stares as well. Not just idle curiosity.

Sherlock watched as John made himself turn his face away from the man and ask Kayla if she wanted to go and talk. Luckily their conversation didn’t last all that long. Kayla wasn’t the most interesting person, especially if someone asked for Sherlock’s opinion. Sherlock still rested in the same spot sipping at his wine and just watching everyone else. He had to wait and see what John was going to do.

John came back over with Kayla and they started up the conversation again before John was grabbed and taken off with Marissa. While Sherlock was watching the pair walk off, luckily they stopped within Sherlock’s eye line so he could see what was happening, Derek shifted in the seat next to him clearly a bit impatient with how slow the night seemed to be passing.  

Sherlock just turned his head and blinked at the man once. Derek was a social one, unlike Sherlock and decided to start up a conversation to pass the time. “So, Sherlock, why did you come on this show anyway?”

“Same reasons as anyone else. To meet John and see what happens all the usual drivel.” Sherlock muttered before glancing back over at the chatting pair. John and Marissa were sitting closer than they had been before. John now had them sitting under a blanket to keep them warm. Sherlock wanted to yell out how cliché it all was.

“You just don’t seem the type is all…” Of course Derek wouldn’t give up on the conversation so easily.

“And what is the type for this kind of thing? I don’t think there is one.” After each sentence Sherlock would turn back and see what John was doing. This time they were again still talking.

“That’s true enough,” Derek laughed. “You know at the beginning I figured I would hate you. You scream that you are a pretentious bastard.”

“Are you saying you don’t? You are the classic idea of a pretentious bastard. You are a big time CEO who goes around each day ordering people around. You know that you are good looking and are physically capable so you clearly show it off. Even before you were a CEO you grew up in money. Everything about you fits the mold.” Sherlock explained mostly with only a glance at the man he was talking to his focus stayed on John.

Derek surprisingly lets out a laugh. “See! That part, I figured I’d hate you, but actually you are more amusing than most of the people here.”

Sherlock actually turned to look at the man after that comment. Before he could respond though, Kayla came over and burst in with something to say. “Holmes. You know that Marissa and Amanda both hate you right? They are taking every chance they can to poison John against you. Really you should just cut your losses. We should hook up and piss them all off for some drama. It would make great TV.”

Sherlock didn’t know what to say. It was rare that he was speechless, but the actual idiocy of this girl was appalling. “I’m gay.” That was the only thing that he could think to say that might potentially make her go away.

“So?” Kayla sneered at him. She wasn’t getting it at all.

This was when Derek broke into the conversation with a laugh. “Seriously? That means if if he wanted to hook up with someone other than John, it wouldn’t be you?”

“Why not?” This time it was Kayla getting annoyed. “I’m gorgeous and great in bed.”

“He’s gay. That means he wants someone who has a cock. He’d only hook up with another man.” Derek was speaking his words as slowly and as annunciated as possible.

Kayla storms off to the wine table with a small screech. Sherlock is more than a bit dumbfounded. Is it actually possible that he could have met someone with less brain cells than Anderson? Sherlock shakes himself out of those thoughts and finally looks back over at John who has been taking quite a long time with Marissa.

They were kissing. When he looked over they were kissing. John was kissing Marissa. It was disgusting. Aesthetically Marissa was beautiful. She had the looks of a model after all. Her and John kissing, was all wrong though. He knew he wasn’t being rational. He could feel himself getting pissed off and twitchy about it. This wasn’t how he’s reacted to seeing people kiss in public before. This was all because it was John, and he was kissing someone who wasn’t Sherlock. Once the two finally broke apart Sherlock felt he could actually look away.

Derek was still laughing from Kayla’s idiocy so luckily he didn’t notice Sherlock’s inattention. John was walking Marissa back over to the group once again and this time he went off with Amanda. All Sherlock really wanted to do was walk over there and grab the man by the wrist and drag him away from the horrible people he was deciding to chat with.

Sherlock shifted his position slightly so he had to move his head less to keep John in his sights. This time the conversation didn’t last nearly as long and it didn’t end with a kiss. Sherlock was thankful that he didn’t have to witness that horror as well. When John was heading back Derek finally spoke up again.

“Well, I guess I should go and grab some time with John before he takes off again.” Sherlock could only nod his head at Derek’s comment. Derek moved over to where John now was and started to speak to him.

Once again Sherlock had to watch as John walked off with someone else. It was irrationally horrible to watch. Sherlock had already assumed that John would be conversing and getting to know other people who were here. He just really didn’t actually want John to.

Once again John brought back his conversation companion without kissing them. Which was good considering Derek was apparently one of the few in the crowd that could stand him at all. If John and Derek had kissed Sherlock would have hated him on principle. Of course almost as soon as John got back he was walking off again, this time with Ryan.

Derek hadn’t come back to talk with Sherlock he was currently talking to the three women left there. This left Sherlock able to watch John and Ryan talking. They were barely three minutes into their conversation when all of a sudden they were kissing. Ryan had lunged forward and planted his lips on John’s. It made Sherlock want to stab his own eyes out. It was horrible seeing it. It was bad watching John kiss Marissa, but this time he was kissing another man and for some reason that made it so much worse.

This time once they broke apart John and Ryan started walking back fairly quickly. Sherlock really couldn’t take it anymore. He didn’t need any more liquid courage to do what he was about to. Sherlock was out of his seat in a blink and he stalked towards where John and Ryan were walking. Ryan was swaggering a bit in front of John who was walking at a slower pace.

Once Sherlock reached the man he repeated the move that John had once done to him. He grabbed John’s wrist instead of his hand and made the man follow him. The spot where John had been talking to most everyone that night was the closest, but Sherlock wasn’t going to sit there, where John had already kissed two other people tonight. He took John out to a bench that was a bit farther and much more blocked by trees. He didn’t really need the other contestants eavesdropping.

Once they got over there Sherlock let go of John’s wrist and he just stood there. Sherlock on the other hand was pacing back and forth in front of the ex-army doctor. He had no idea what to say. He wanted to kiss the man and yell at him all at the same time. It was a frustrating way to feel.

“You’ve got me here. Are you actually going to say anything?” John spoke. There was a note of amusement in his voice, but Sherlock wouldn’t hear that until he replayed the scene later.

“You told me to deduce it. Well clearly you want me gone. So why not just say? I mean you didn’t have to drag me out here on a date just to have you ignore me and make me watch you kiss other people.” Sherlock’s voice wasn’t loud. He made sure it was quiet, but he knows that it was seething and full of frustration and hurt as much as he tried to hide it.

“Are you jealous, Sherlock?” John asked keeping his voice low and even.

“No! Of course not. It isn’t like we were in some exclusive relationship. You can do whatever you please.” Sherlock made himself scoff at John’s question.

“Oh, okay. Well, I guess I’ll be heading back over to the group then.” John starts to move past Sherlock who reaches out and grabs him again. This time it’s by the hand and Sherlock wraps his fingers through John’s holding him in place.

“Yes, okay? I’m jealous. I hate seeing you kiss someone else. It makes me want to scream and break things. It also makes me want to kiss you again to make you forget the feeling of their lips on yours.” Sherlock’s face is desperate. He needs John to understand this. He needs John to not kick him out and ignore him.

A small victorious smile started breaking out on John’s face. “I knew it! The way you’ve been looking at me all day when I was with everyone else. It had to be jealousy. I had to be sure though. I had to see it with my own eyes that you actually want me.”

“John, I told you that I do. Didn’t you believe me?” Sherlock’s face that started to fall into a hopeful expression when John started to smile, froze again at the implications of John’s statement.

“I did. That was the problem. I was so ready and happy to believe you I thought I could just be falling for a really good lie. So I had to see if you did feel something for me or if I was hopefully imagining it.” John was explaining it all, but it didn’t click to Sherlock for a good few moments.

“Wait… Oh, OH! So you ignored me today on purpose. All to see if I would react. You wanted to see what I would do. So did I pass your test?” Sherlock’s whole face changed when he had figured it out. This was good. This was clever!

“Yeah, I think you did. No way could you have faked that.” John started to smile as well at the way Sherlock’s face had transformed.

“I haven’t faked any of it John. You have to believe that.” Sherlock was basically pleading with the man. He didn’t want to have to go through this kind of torture again. “Not to mention that you have even more of my interest now. You actually planned this all out, just to get a reaction out of me. You’re amazing, John.”

John blushes again. Sherlock was so glad to see that light color staining the man’s cheeks. It was good to know that John did want him to stay that he just wanted to know that Sherlock was being honest. He was staring at the man. It was a wonder that Sherlock who had met this man who not only liked him, but actually could keep up with him. He planned out a way to get Sherlock to react emotionally. He was the first person to ever do something like that. Mycroft had tried of course, but those had never worked except to generate annoyance.

Sherlock moves forward towards John. He felt like he had been away from this man for months. It was so agonizing to be on this date today. It was annoying and frustrating and horrifying and yet Sherlock liked John more now. He had never liked someone so much that he was jealous. He knew his emotional attachment to this man was growing and it was terrifying for him, but he wasn’t going to waste his chance.

Sherlock reached up his hand that wasn’t holding onto John’s and traced over the color staining his cheek. “I’m going to kiss you now.” His whisper was barely out of his mouth before he moved forward and sealed his lips over John’s.

It was fantastic. It felt amazing to finally be kissing the man again. Knowing that John didn’t want to kick him off the show and did want to kiss him and see him more. Sherlock made sure to work toward keeping to his words earlier. He kissed the man with everything he had. He truly wanted to wipe away his memory of kissing anyone else that night.

Sherlock let his hand wander into John’s hair and gave a small tug. At that moment John let out a moan that was caught by Sherlock’s mouth. The kiss got deeper and deeper from there. Sherlock’s free hand grabbed at John’s hip. His fingers flexing over the skin covered by his thin shirt repeatedly. Kissing this man was a feeling Sherlock had never experienced before. John lets his cane clatter to the ground and both of his hands fly up to touch Sherlock. One hand is grasping Sherlock’s shoulder and the other is clutching the lanky man’s waist through that sinful purple shirt.

God, if they didn’t let go soon there were sure to be bruises. It was absolutely the best kiss John Watson had ever had and it definitely did what it was intended to. Sherlock wanted to make him forget the others and he had. He forgot the entire world around them as cheesy as that was to even think it was true. Sherlock surrounded him. He wanted to kiss Sherlock all the time. He could use hours of this.

John, as much as he hated to, pulled away to breathe. Sherlock was completely undeterred by this change and let his head fall to the left side of his neck. He nibbled his way down the soft skin there letting small licks mix in with the touch of his teeth. Then Sherlock did something that he had wanted to since he had seen it. Sherlock’s head dipped a bit lower again, his hand coming up and pulling the shirt off to the side, and he kissed the scar at John’s left shoulder. He ran his lips over the entirely of it and pressed a kiss right in the center where the bullet had entered John’s body.

This time the sound was muffled by the fist that John had shoved against his own mouth. He had just about made a very loud and very embarrassing noise that could have been aired on TV. So he muffled it with his own hand so it sounded like a breathy moan and a sharp hiss of his breath.

They finally wound themselves down a few moments later at the thought of people being just around the corner and the constant presence of cameras. Sherlock got his breath back after a few long moments of deep breathing. “So, I plan to stick around if that’s all right with you…?”

John let out a laugh and leaned into the taller man. He couldn’t imagine not having Sherlock around in this contest anymore so he would definitely be agreeable to that one. They started to walk off before Sherlock bent and grabbed up John’s cane for him.

“Oh…” John mutters just looking at it. He hadn’t even realized that he had dropped it. That was incredible.

“As much as I don’t want to we need to head back before they all set out to come find us. That would just be awkward.” Sherlock really wasn’t excited to see the rest of the group again. He still felt like insulting Ryan and Marissa until they decided to run off.

“Yeah. We need to. I still have a rose to hand out.” John spoke much more calmly than he would have moments ago. His breath was finally under control again.

Sherlock almost startled at the mention of the rose. He wanted it more than any other time. If John chose to give this one to him then it would mean that John really does want him to stick around and not just to find a potential murderer.

Once they made it back everyone was sitting at the tables and drinking their glasses of wine again. Sherlock went and sat next to Derek as John sat across from him thankfully next to Kayla and not Marissa or Ryan. He reached forward and plucked the rose off of the tray after they had both gotten their own glasses of wine.

“So, this was a really fun date and I’m glad I got to spend it with the six of you. I really enjoyed being able to learn about the tea ceremony and be able to take in one of the naturally beautiful places here. Tonight I think I’m just going to have to go with a bit of my gut instinct on this one. All of you are amazing, but I’m going to have to give this rose to Sherlock. Will you accept this rose?” John’s speech had had people looking at him with greedy looks in their eyes.

“For you? Of course, John.” Sherlock carefully reached out his hand and took hold of the rose. He brought it to his face and smelled the gorgeous flower. He had never been overly fond of flowers, but they were growing on him.

Everyone else sitting at the table looked completely offended. They were insulted that John hadn’t given them the rose. Sherlock of course was really happy with the turn out.

They all climbed back into the car and this time John was sitting next to Sherlock. Annoyingly Marissa was determinedly on his other side, but Sherlock was choosing to ignore it.  The car ride back took a much shorter time, at least to Sherlock, than it had to get there. John and Sherlock and been sitting as close as they could and it was a great feeling to be able to be next to the man like that after a long break from him.

Once they made it back to the hotel most everyone was asleep of course it had been a long drive back. While the girls went one way to their rooms John separated from the group by himself and Sherlock was stuck with Derek and Ryan. As soon as they were out of earshot Ryan started in on him.

“John wasn’t even paying attention to you! How did you end up with the damn rose? It should have been mine. What the hell did you do? Rig the show? There is no way that John would like such a freak.” Ryan was clearly annoyed. He had never been beaten out by anyone before. At anything.

“Well I for one think that some actions and facts speak a bit louder. I’m the one with the rose and you aren’t. Goodnight.” He walked ahead of them. Derek caught up, but Ryan stayed behind glaring at the both of them.

“I still can’t believe how you can shut them up so easily.” Derek let out a small laugh.

“Well it isn’t hard. Just say big words that they won’t understand and walk away on their silence.” Sherlock said it loud enough that Ryan would be able to hear and then pushed into the suite he was staying in. The two men followed after him of course, but Sherlock changed and got into bed before either of them could say something else.

Sherlock carefully laid the rose on the nightstand next to the bed and proceeded to lay there and think. This whole night had completely messed with him. He was so certain that John was going to send him away and never speak to him again. After he was certain that everyone had settled down for the night not hearing any other noises from inside the suite, he pulled out his phone and texted John.

John had been laying on his bed after happily changing out of his date clothes and relaxing for the first time all day. He had been tense ever since he saw Sherlock. It had been so hard to purposefully ignore the man. All off John’s attention wanted to focus on Sherlock and it took a lot of energy and concentration to make sure that he didn’t give himself away.

He had noticed throughout the day the kinds of looks Sherlock was giving him though and that made it worth sticking it out. When Sherlock had stormed over and pulled him away it had been this victorious high rushing through him. It was even better when Sherlock actually admitted to being jealous. Then there was the kiss. That had been the most amazing kiss he’d ever had. It was intense and all consuming. John felt his cheeks heating up as he thought about that kiss. He was so so glad that Sherlock had actually reacted to John’s plan. If he hadn’t John had no idea what he would have done. He really didn’t want Sherlock to go even if he had hidden something like that from him. This man, this consulting detective, scared him.

This entire experience was insane. He had never thought anything like this would have happened to him. Right before all of this John had even told his therapist that nothing ever happened to him. That used to be true. Now, it wasn’t even close. In the past few weeks he had experienced so many incredible things. He was actually going to have material to fit into his blog as soon as he had time to start writing stuff in it again. While John was thinking over all of this the slim phone in his pocket vibrated making him jump.

**John… - SH**

_Sherlock…? – JW_

**I’m glad I was wrong for once. – SH**

_About what? – JW_

**About if you wanted me to leave or not. I really thought that you did. I was ready to leave tonight and just text you and let you know I was going. – SH**

_I would have stopped you. If you had texted me I wouldn’t have let you leave. I don’t think I could. – JW_

**Really? That’s surprising. You were so mad. I figured it would have been easier if I was gone. I was going to leave the rest of the case to Anthea to solve. – SH**

_You would have left off a case because you thought I didn’t want you here? – JW_

**Yes. I couldn’t be here and know that you didn’t want to be around me. Also I would probably want to kiss you again. Then it would just be embarrassing if you turned me down. – SH**

_You’re an idiot. – JW_

**What? Why? No, I’m not. – SH**

_Yes, you are. Especially if you really thought that I would send you off after you told me something that you had decided on before we even met. – JW_

**Right… Well in my defense you made it pretty convincing. – SH**

_Yeah. I’m sorry about that. It was probably a bit more over the top than necessary. – JW_

**It was quite a bit. Was it really necessary to kiss Ryan and Marissa? – SH**

_Well, I guess not. I’m sure just kissing one of them would have done the trick as well… - JW_

**John. – SH**

_Yes? – JW_

**Please… - SH**

_Okay since you begged… maybe it wasn’t necessary. You had just been so controlled that entire date up until that point. And then you caught me looking at you when you were leaning against the railing. I had to do something to get your honest reaction out of you. – JW_

**I had only tried to catch your attention like that because I needed you to look at me. – SH**

_You definitely got it. And the attention of everyone else. – JW_

**Jealous, John? – SH**

_Not at all. – JW_

**Are you sure about that? I mean Kayla already came to me and propositioned me. – SH**

_She did what? She knows you’re gay right? You are gay right? Not bisexual or anything? So I don’t have to worry about the women here stealing you off the show…– JW_

**Apparently the meaning needed to be explained to her a bit more thoroughly. Yes, I’m completely gay. And that sounds a lot like jealousy, John. – SH**

_Okay. Fine. Maybe I was jealous. Mostly of the way Derek was looking at you. I know you couldn’t stand any of the rest of them. – JW_

**No need to be jealous, John. – SH**

_Why not? Most of the men here are much more attractive than I am. – JW_

**I will have to disagree. You have absolutely nothing to worry about. The only person in this place that I’m romantically interested in at all is you. – SH**

_Oh. Well. Okay then. I didn’t actually want to kiss either of them. Ryan and Marissa don’t hold any of my interest. – JW_

**Good. Considering Ryan and Amanda are sleeping together right now. – SH**

_You’re serious? Of course you are. I’m not even surprised actually. – JW  
_ **Tomorrow you have the date with Ben, correct? Will you tell me what you think of him? – SH**

_Like in a ‘you think he could be involved with the murder plot’ kind of way? – JW_

**It’s possible. So far I’ve only been able to eliminate people rather than confirm any one of my suspicions. – SH**

_Right. I keep forgetting that I don’t even know if someone is a murderer on this show. I wouldn’t want to end up kissing one of them. Or pissing them off. I guess I would prefer not to get killed. – JW_

**You won’t. I wouldn’t let that happen. And you haven’t. At least so far anyway. Ryan and Marissa are definitely not in on the plan. – SH**

_Well that’s good to know. So planning on catching them any time soon? – JW_

**If I had my way they would already be caught. I think someone is running the show. They sent people out. Probably Mary as a teacher or the professional. Then there is someone else. The person who would actually do the killing. I’m just not sure who it is yet. – SH**

_Okay. Well just let me know what to look for. – JW_

**Inconsistency. If he starts messing up his story then he’s trying to remember his lies. Also anything that doesn’t fit with his image that he’s created for himself. Then of course if he seems a bit more obsessed with someone else than he should. Say if he’s talking about Ryan constantly and yet has barely spoken two words to him then we might have found the person he would want to target. Most killers in training would find someone they are obsessing over and kill that person as an entrance. – SH**

_You seem to know quite a lot about all of this. – JW_

**Oh, did I forget to mention that I’m not the killer? – SH**

_I never thought you were. Do people often assume you’re the killer? – JW_

**It’s happened once or twice before. – SH**

_That’s ridiculous. You would clearly get away with it too easily and get bored. – JW_

**You obviously know me too well. – SH**

_Get some sleep, Sherlock. I’ll see you tomorrow._ _J - JW_

**Oh, god. Not the emoticons, John. – SH**

_I like them. And you make me smile; I wanted you to know that. – JW_

**Goodnight, John. – SH**

Both of the men still stayed awake for a time after they stopped texting. This was all happening really fast between them and it was new territory for them both. It was scary, but neither one of them would change it.   

The next day Sherlock woke up to find himself smiling at the rose on his nightstand. He would see John today, but then John would be taking out another man on a date. Sherlock really liked John. It was surprising, but he did. He didn’t want to screw this up, but he wasn’t sure that John wouldn’t be able to fall for anyone else here. Someone who was more normal and could give him a life Sherlock would never fit into.

After the murderer was caught then would Sherlock be all that interesting anymore. He would have to compete just like everyone else. He would figure it out. He wasn’t going to give up without a fight, but he just isn’t an expert in these kinds of things.

Sherlock went down to the common room where most everyone was already gathered. Anthea was in there talking to Ben. He was the one going on the date today and Anthea wanted as much knowledge of the man as she could get before he left. He had a decent chance of being the potential killer, but they couldn’t say for sure. Of course everyone was chatting when Sherlock walked in. Amanda and Marissa took the time to stop their conversations and glare at him though.

Sherlock ignored them both and moved to Kathleen, Sarah, and Mary who were all talking. This was sadly the easiest group to join even though one of them could be mentoring a killer. “Hey, we all heard that you got the rose last night.” Sarah brought up when she noticed him standing there.

“Yes, I did. I think it was because I won the competition thing though.” Sherlock would down play it of course. It wouldn’t be fair to John to go around bragging and ruining this whole thing for him.   

“Oh, I doubt it. When he looks at you he definitely seems interested.” Kathleen told Sherlock while smiling at the man. She seemed very at ease with the situation when it was a competition for the affections of a single person.

“Oh, well, I hope he likes me if he’s keeping me around. I would like to stay of course. So, I’m happy to have the rose.” Sherlock was a bit taken aback that other people could see John was interested in him. It was hard for Sherlock to see so he didn’t expect anyone else to. Apparently normal people could read those things a lot easier than he could.

Marcus made his grand entrance and dropped off the date card as soon as the last couple of people filed into the room. Kayla and Ian were the last ones through the door. They both sat close to where Amanda and Marissa were at while everyone waited for the card to be read. No one lunged for it this time so Sherlock walked forward and scooped it off the table.

“Ben, let’s have a getaway, John.” Sherlock walks over and easily hands off the card to Ben. He took it shakily convincing Sherlock more and more that they were on to something being suspicious of Ben.

Soon it was time for Ben to head out and get ready so he broke off his conversation with Anthea and went off towards the room he was staying in. At this it gave Anthea the opening to head over to where Sherlock was standing. She was giving him a knowing smile that was going to give Sherlock and eye twitch. This woman knew way too much for anyone’s good, except Mycroft’s.

“So, it went well I take it?” Anthea started. It was ambiguous enough not to give away any details of their conversation.

“Yes, though it was a bit of a frustrating one. Apparently I might be the jealous type.” Sherlock was clearly annoyed about this new bit of information he had learned about himself. He had never shown any signs of being jealous before. Though, John was different from anything he had had before.

Anthea on the other hand let out a bright laugh, drawing multiple people’s attention. “Oh, Sherlock. I already knew that about you. Not going to take off running then I assume?”

Before Sherlock could give her a real scowl for her comment John walked into the room. “No, I’m not planning that at all. Not anymore.” Sherlock followed John as he made his way around greeting people. Their eyes locked and Sherlock could feel his face starting to heat.

“Good. Because I wouldn’t have let you leave even if you had tried. He likes you way too much for you to run and ruin it for the both of you.” Anthea’s voice was clear and sharp. It always was when she truly meant the words she was saying. He would hate to ever be on that woman’s bad side.

Sherlock gave Anthea an eye roll that would have screamed annoyance if he hadn’t been smiling at her as he did it. Sherlock broke away from her where they were standing against the wall and made his way towards the couches. He plopped himself down on the couch at the end since he knew John was making his way around the room. Anthea soon joined them all as well, but she chose to sit away from John and next to Sarah and Kevin.

John was talking with Kathleen and sat next to Sherlock with Kathleen on the other side. John turns to Sherlock at a lull in their conversation and greets him as well. “Hey, Sherlock.” John’s voice was completely casual, but his eyes were bright and he was smiling happily at Sherlock.

Sherlock was incredibly happy to see the man smiling at him. It was worth that whole time of John ignoring him to have him back to smiling at him like this. John let his hand settle on the couch right up against Sherlock’s leg, pressing against it. “Hi, John.” They smiled at each other once more before Kathleen continued speaking and broke up the moment. Sherlock wanted to scowl at the woman, but she wasn’t being rude, just talkative.

Kathleen opened the conversation for Sherlock to join in as well. They were talking about the tea ceremony they had learned yesterday. Kathleen was curious about it. She was a teacher so it made sense she would want to keep learning new information. Sherlock explained some of the aspects that John had left out and mentioned about the bowing being a sign of respect. Such as a strong handshake is most other places.

Ben came back into the room dressed casually which matched how John was dressed. Once Ben made his way inside John stood up, he let his fingers trail down Sherlock’s leg as he did so. John walked across the room to meet the man and greeted him with a smile and a small hug before they walked out of the room.

Sherlock was bored already. He went back to his room and made sure that no one would be entering before he started to google people and look into the news. He wanted to see if there was any information on Ben. He was an entrepreneur so there should be some news about the things that went big and made him successful. Actually the only Ben Hartford he could find was a receptionist at a major law firm. That was interesting if this Ben was actually a receptionist instead of a successful entrepreneur then there was a larger chance that he could be the apprentice killer. Most people who decide later in life to start killing it’s because they are unsatisfied about their current life.

He texted Mycroft and Anthea the information. In the text to Mycroft he told him to look deeper and to find out if the receptionist was actually the Ben Hartford on the show. Sherlock was unable to dig up any pictures of the man so he couldn’t be completely sure yet. He hoped John would be able to find out more about the man as well.

 

John was leading Ben along to the car. He was one of the few who has kept a slower pace than John has with his cane. They weren’t touching at all. After John had hugged the man he hadn’t seemed comfortable so he pulled back quickly. He figured he would try again later on the date. Maybe try and hold his hand to see his reaction.

The car ride had started and it was quiet. John didn’t really know what to say, but he figured he might as well start off small. “So, Ben, do you have any siblings?”

“Oh,” Ben jumped when John spoke. “No, no brothers or sisters for me.”

“I’m the younger one in my family. So I’ve always had a sister. I feel like it would be strange being an only child. Did you have any pets at least?” John was keeping the conversation as light as he could. He hoped the man would start talking more and at least give him something to work with.

“No, sadly my parents didn’t want pets in the house. I think were content to only have one person to take care of. I don’t think they wanted to add an animal to the mix.” Ben’s voice was carefully neutral. It was hard getting a read on the man.

“Well that had to be hard. I was always getting bored as a kid. Granted you didn’t have to deal with the sibling rivalry stuff. Harry and I were always fighting. Especially over stupid things.” He kept lengthening his responses so maybe he could hit on something Ben would actually start talking about.

“I definitely know about that one. All of my friends had siblings. They would always end up fighting over the channel and the volume on the TV. It didn’t seem all that important of a thing to argue about though.” Ben’s still didn’t seem all that excited, but at least he was talking.

“Exactly. It was always ridiculous. We even knew it was stupid and yet we fought about it anyway. So tell me about the life as an entrepreneur. What got you started?” John figured that people could usually always talk about their jobs when all else fails.

“It’s not that interesting. Really.” Ben shrugged off John’s question.

“I want to know about it though. I think it sounds interesting. All I’ve ever been is a doctor. And while I find that rewarding, it’s a pretty predictable kind of career choice. Just prescribe some medicine and all of that. Like are you your own boss?” He was having to work at this one. Most everyone else had been very upfront about answering questions. Considering this was a show to get to know people and fall in love that was a big part of the process.

“It’s not like I’m anyone important. I am my own boss. So that’s definitely the nice part. It’s a bit of pressure though because you keep having to figure out how to keep up with everything that’s being released. So I have to keep coming up with new ideas.” Ben’s voice didn’t carry the normal excitement people had when talking about their careers.

“That’s definitely interesting. I mean it’s a pretty cutting edge kind of job choice. Is this whole process disrupting your job?” John had really no idea how being an entrepreneur worked, so he couldn’t tell if this was all truth or something he was making up.

“Not really. I just write down any ideas I have and I’ll let my staff know once I get back.” Ben sounded completely nonchalant about it all. Most people John had asked that about seemed distracted by the idea of leaving their work behind for weeks and weeks for this chance. Especially considering it wasn’t a guaranteed win.

“Well that doesn’t sound too bad at all. I know some of the contestants are really worried about having a job when they get back. I’m glad that isn’t a stressful thing for you.” John was having a rough time trying to read this man. He wasn’t Sherlock. He couldn’t tell what the man had for breakfast just by looking at his hair or something.

The rest of the car ride was filled with completely innocuous chatter. At least this meant that Ben was talking more. John was getting stressed out trying to lead the conversation so heavily. Finally they reached their destination. They were parked on the outside of the complex that held the Terra Cotta Army. They were once again greeted formally and then got the greeting translated. This time John followed through with the return bow to the two men who were standing there.

Once they started walking into the complex John moved to grab ahold of Ben’s hand. This was a date after all. It wasn’t supposed to be out of bounds to hold someone’s hand. Once again Ben kind of jerked when John made contact with him. Ben seemed to purposefully make sure that his hand stayed where it was though. Ben didn’t tug his hand away, but he seemed like he wanted to. John kept hold of Ben’s hand until they reached the stairs at the inside of the complex. After that it would have been hard to maneuver on the stairs with his cane while holding hands to it gave John the excuse to let go.

They walked through the complex and until they reached the edge of where the Terra Cotta army was lined up. It was gorgeous. John was looking up at the enormous statues in something close to awe. It was fantastic to see something that is known about worldwide. “So, what do you think, Ben?”      

“It’s amazing. I wish I had the chance to travel more.” Ben spoke. It sounded honest enough, but something felt off about it.

“Well as an entrepreneur, wouldn’t you get the chance to travel? Put a face to the ideas and products?” John is completely casual with his question. He made sure it didn’t sound like he thought Ben could be lying.

Ben took a second before he answered. It was a bit too long to be natural. Though John knew he could just be reading way too much into it. After all Ben was a quiet man. Someone who preferred listening to speaking. “Yes, that’s true. I still don’t get to travel as much as I would like though. And I mean when I do travel, I guess more of it is business related than seeing the sights and all of that.”

John was just nodding his head. That was a valid reason, but it came out of Ben’s mouth harried and nervous sounding. John changed the conversation topic and just started talking about the beauty of China and what he had been able to experience of it so far. It was of course amazing to be someplace completely different from what is usual and learn about new places and customs. He did try to get some more talking out of Ben by asking him what he had seen so far outside of today. The two men who greeted them had left them alone with their camera man to wander around and look at the beautiful statues.  

They spent a good long time walking through the statues. Both of them were careful not to accidentally run into any of the artifacts and they never reached out to touch, of course. After they had looked their fill at the history that was right in front of them they moved out of the complex and went along to look through some of the shops that were nearby. Once again they took their time wandering through the streets, in and out of the different and brightly colored shops. There were jewelry, clothing, vases, plants, and food stands all over. There were also different tourist gift shops. It was wonderful being able to go into each shop and stop at each stand. Everyone was extremely nice, though very intent on selling. Everyone here at least spoke a bit of English since it was such a large tourist spot so John and Ben could at least understand what they were selling most of the time.

It took a solid two hours to be able to get through the shops all clustered together. Even though the shops were so close to one another they were still quite interesting and necessitated the time it took them in each one. All in all it had been a really good date so far. If John wasn’t so worried about being suspicious he would have been greatly enjoying Ben’s company. He was a sedate man, but he had a quiet and dry sense of humor and they got on well.

They climbed back in the car and they got taken to a wonderful authentic Chinese restaurant that was only fifteen minutes away. They got one of the secluded tables in a back room that was kept cleared for them and the camera crew. John figured that during dinner he would ask about his time in the competition and see if he mentioned someone specific. That was one of the things that Sherlock told him to look for.

Their food arrived only moments after they ordered from a beautiful waitress who bowed to them and left them alone. After John took a few bites of his delicious meal, he decided that it was a good enough time to start talking. “So, how has this whole thing been for you?”

“What thing?” Ben threw out this question in response almost lightning fast.

“Being on this show. I mean it’s weird for me. I’m just kind of assuming that it’s weird for all of you as contestants as well.” John explain his question, even though he was pretty sure that it was obvious what he was asking about.

“Right. Of course. It’s definitely strange. It’s to fall in love and everything, but it’s also a competition. So it’s a weird feeling.” Ben recovered himself from that strange pause of his with a pretty normal answer.

“I never thought I would be on a show like this. I had never even seen the show before. And yet here I am.” John went for the lighthearted route. He was hoping that would at least get Ben to be more okay with talking.

“Much the same with me. I didn’t expect to be doing this with my life at all. It’s a big change for me.” This time when Ben was speaking he at least sounded interested in the conversation.

“I was constantly worried that I was going to make a fool of myself with all the cameras around. Or that I would be taken in by someone who was terrible to the other contestants or something. Especially since I only see you guys in certain situations.” John was hedging around the subject, but he didn’t want to ask outright and make Ben not want to answer.

“Oh, yeah, it’s been strange living with so many people who I don’t actually know. And everyone is so different. We aren’t all here for a job conference. So we don’t all have something in common.” Ben wasn’t shutting down. That was good. John figured that it was an okay time to actually ask him something closer to what he actually wanted to know.

“Do you get along with everyone? Even though everyone is so different I hope everyone is nice to each other.” John made sure to look at Ben as though he is really looking for an answer so he’ll feel like he needs to actually give one.

“Mostly everyone has been nice. I think everyone sticks to talking to people they would talk to outside of the show as well.” Ben was being vague again. John wasn’t really sure what that meant. All of the contestants were completely different in their real lives from each other.

“How so?” John hoped the man would elaborate. It would be really helpful if he did anyway or else he would be going back with no real information.

“Well mostly the people you would think of as those popular kids in their regular lives all hang out together. I’ve talked more to the guys who are quieter like me than the outgoing ones. And I guess Anthea. She’s been really nice. Anthea is great.” When Ben mentioned Anthea his face turned a shade darker.

“Oh, Anthea is a really nice person. I went on a date with her a few days ago. She seems to really enjoy talking to people.” John was just speaking more normally now. Anthea was a great person so it was easy to compliment her.

Ben’s face flashed anger so quickly it took John completely by surprise. And it wasn’t anger that John had been out on another date. It had been at John that he had been around Anthea. That was more than a bit shocking. Ben had come on the show as a gay man, not bisexual. His interest in Anthea went way beyond that she had been nice to him. It was a lot closer to obsessive interest. Ben was definitely contradicting his story.

John was quick enough to notice it, but Ben made his face completely blank just a few moments later. “She’s great. She tries to talk to everyone from what I’ve noticed.”

From there conversation went back to small talk and talk about favorite foods and equally inane things. They finished eating and John decided that he needed to give Ben the rose even if he had freaked John out just minutes ago. If he was the potential killer he needed to give Sherlock and Anthea the chance to catch Ben and possibly Mary to put them both away.

“Ben… this has been a really great day. I know it isn’t going bungee jumping or something crazy, but I thought it was good to just get out and get to know each other. So, will you accept this rose?”

“Sure, John, I’d love to.” Ben’s voice was completely neutral again. The only real emotion he had gotten was when he talked about Anthea. This was when people would usually try and go in for a kiss. John didn’t really want to kiss the man, but he wanted to test out the theory of if he was even interested in men, or if he was only interested in women. He smiled at the man and started to move towards him. This was classic first kiss type of behavior. He was still far away enough from the man that they weren’t touching. Ben actually jerked backwards, he covered it well, but it was an obvious instinct reaction. He didn’t want anything to do with kissing a man.

John made sure to not react to the rejection since he was fine with not kissing Ben. They went back to the car and headed back to the hotel. John was being quiet through the car ride and so was Ben which was good. John was trying to make sense of it all in his head, but he really couldn’t figure it out. He was sure that Sherlock could do a lot better with it all. John made occasional comments so it wasn’t an entirely awkward ride back.

When they got there they of course went their separate ways. When John got back to his room he changed and took out the phone he had gotten from Anthea. He saw that he actually already had three unread messages. All from Sherlock. That was a bit of a surprise.

**John, remember to look for those aspects. – SH**

**He could be a possible murderer. Don’t kiss him. – SH**

**Even if he isn’t, don’t kiss him. – SH**

_Is that jealousy again, Sherlock? – JW_

**You know I don’t want you to kiss anyone else. – SH**

_True, you did tell me that. Will you feel better if I tell you that I didn’t kiss him? –JW  
_

**Yes. – SH**

_I didn’t kiss him. I did find him to be a bit off. So he should definitely be the top of your list. – JW_

**Really? Tell me what you noticed. – SH**

_He contradicted his story. He should travel more being an entrepreneur, but he doesn’t at all. He says he likes being his own boss, but I don’t think he’s ever been a boss. And then he is most likely straight, but he came on this show as a gay man. – JW_

**How do you know? You said you didn’t kiss him. – SH**

_I didn’t. I still noticed that he shied away from any contact with me. I gave him the rose though so if he is you can catch him and whoever else. After that I decided to test it. I moved toward him like I was going to go for a kiss and he jerked away. – JW_

**Okay. That’s good. There is always the chance that he’s completely inexperienced and didn’t know what to do though. – SH**

_No, this was definitely him not wanting to be that close to a man. And you didn’t react like that. You didn’t jerk away from me… - JW_

**Point to you, John. Well anything else that points to that? – SH**

_Yes. He talked about Anthea. He got really pissed off when I mentioned I went on a date with her earlier this week. He looked like he could punch me. It seemed like more than a crush. It was an obsessive look in his eyes. – JW_

**Hmm that’s interesting. I’ll warn her to be careful around him. Though she needs no real reminder to keep on her guard. I’m surer now that it has to be Ben and Mary who are planning all this. You need to watch out too. – SH**

_Why me? – JW_

**You’re the star of this show. They could easily want to target you. And I don’t want you to get hurt. = SH**

_I’ll make sure to be careful. Goodnight Sherlock. I’ll see you at the cocktail party. – JW_

It was the next day and John was thinking about who he would have to send home. He would have to cut down the number from seventeen to fourteen people. This was going to be a strange decision to make. He was already keeping Sherlock, Anthea, and Ben. He would have to keep Mary since it was assumed that she was part of the murder plot as well. Three people would end up going home tonight. He wasn’t entirely sure who he wanted to leave and who he wanted to stick around.

By the time Marcus came and collected him to walk him down to the gorgeous outside courtyard they were using for this cocktail party he was still going over it all in his head. He was dressed in the navy blue suit that they had picked out for him and he was just playing the part tonight. He would talk to everyone of course, but he really did hate making those decisions that ended up upsetting people.

All of the contestants were already there with a glass of wine in their hands. Sherlock, Anthea, and Ben were all holding onto their roses as well. Marcus of course greeted the group as usual and then introduced John even though it was entirely unnecessary.

He grabs a glass of wine for himself and starts greeting people around the room. Without even waiting a full five minutes Marissa comes over and drags him off. This was one of the encounters that he was dreading. He had kissed Marissa on the group date, but he didn’t really want a repeat performance. He was entirely sure that she would though.

They got over to a bench on the side of the courtyard and she sat down. She was in another of those tight, short dresses. She had her legs crossed and she was leaning towards him to show off as much of her body as she could. It was a lot to deal with. She was a very demanding kind of girl, completely high maintenance. She wanted all of the attention to be on her.

She started talking about how she doesn’t mind that he didn’t give her the rose the other night, that getting a rose tonight is the part that really matters. After only a few interrupted comments from him she decides to just skip the conversation all together. She basically lunged toward him and attached her lips to his. He never even had time to dodge or to push her away. She was so enthusiastic she had a death grip on his arm.

Her nails were digging into his arm so deep that he was sure she was almost to the point of drawing blood through his suit jacket. He gasped from the pain, but she clearly assumed it was from pleasure since she proceeded to shove her tongue down his throat. Before John had the chance to push her off of him someone cleared their throat making Marissa pull away from him.

“What?” Marissa spoke in the most annoying voice possible. She was acting like an entitled little child.

“Well, I was just coming over to see if I could talk to John for a few minutes. Do you mind if I steal you away, John?” Anthea’s voice was completely calm, but if someone looked deep enough it was easy to see the deadly concealed steel she had.

“You already have a rose. Go away.” Marissa was sneering and she practically screeched the words at Anthea. That was not the smartest idea if John was asked for his opinion.

“I just wanted to talk to the man for a few minutes. That is why we’re all here, right? To get to know John better. So what do you say, John?” Anthea spoke with absolute certainty in her voice. She held out her hand to John and he gladly took it.

“I’ll talk to you later Marissa. I need to be able to talk to everyone tonight.” John walked off with Anthea as quickly as he could manage.

“Thank you! You just saved my life.” John’s voice was thin and wavering. Marissa was a lot to deal with.

“Oh, I was just saving everyone actually. Sherlock looked ready to march over her and drag you away from her. I figured it would be a lot better if I came over instead.” Anthea spoke breezily. As if she hadn’t a care in the world. It was a tone that John had heard her speak in multiple times since he had met her and yet now, knowing what he does, he can see that she’s still completely aware of everything around her. Never once getting too focused on one thing to the point of blocking out anything else.

“And he tried to tell me that he wasn’t jealous,” John mused. He didn’t really know what else to say. He couldn’t exactly bring up too much with the cameras watching their every move and hearing the entire conversation.    

“You seem to be an exception. And not just for him, everyone here likes you, John.” Anthea flashed John a bright and flirtatious smile.

John knew that the woman wasn’t here to win his heart. He also knew that a gorgeous woman like her was probably already interested in someone or happily in a relationship with someone else. Even knowing all of that he still could stop himself from reacting to her. She is a stunning woman who is smiling at him like she’s only got eyes for him. He’s not dead.

“Though I don’t think Sherlock is the only one feeling the stings of jealousy.” Anthea’s eyes were shining mischievously. Clearly she could tell exactly how John was feeling about Sherlock as well. It was a bit disconcerting to be read so easily. “I mean only a small number of us have actually kissed you. The rest are seething I’m sure.”

Anthea was skilled. John had to give her that. He was almost completely positive that she had meant himself and his jealousy over Sherlock getting attention with her first statement and yet she turned it upside down and made it seem like she had meant the other contestants the entire time.

They settled themselves down onto one of the comfortable benches that lined the outdoor area they were all gathered in. It surprised John that even after finding out everything that he had that he still genuinely liked Anthea. He may not know much about her, the true things anyway, but he did find her to be charming and entertaining. Especially when compared to the company of some of the other people he had met on this show.

“I don’t know if seething is the right word. I have only known you all for a short time. I haven’t even spent all of that much time with each of you yet. It’s a bit hard to become so attached so quickly. Especially under these kind of conditions.” Even as John spoke the words he had a hard time conveying truth with them. He was already attached to Sherlock a lot more than he should be at this point. He felt his face heat as he just thought about it. He tried to will it away, but he was sure that Anthea had noticed. The smirk on her face just proved it.

“How are you doing with all of this, John?” Anthea asked the question, and anyone would assume she was talking about the competition, but John knew as a gut feeling that she was really talking about his latest revelation of the real reasons she and Sherlock were on the show to begin with.

John thought about it for a moment. It was a loaded question that was for sure. He couldn’t answer outright without giving it all away to the crew and potentially to an audience. So he had to word his answer carefully. “I’m good. It’s all a bit much, but that doesn’t mean I’m not making real connections with people.”

Anthea just nodded her head along and moved closer to him. To anyone watching and hearing the words it would look as though she was moving closer out of the desire to be one of those real connections. Which was probably playing very well for the audience and the producers.

Anthea knew what John meant. She could read between the lines. What went unsaid was that he was clearly decided about letting Sherlock stay even if he hadn’t come here to start off with the purest intentions towards John. Now that she had gotten that bit out of the way it was time to test the theory John had noted the previous night, as long as the ex-army doctor played along.

Carefully and slowly so John wouldn’t react without thought Anthea leaned in towards him. She placed her mouth right at his ear and whispered the words, “Let’s test your theory. Watch for Ben’s reaction, I’ll watch as well.”

John let his gaze flicker back towards the crowd of people. Ben was clearly in their sight lines. Anthea must have placed them on this bench strategically. Anthea moved her mouth away from his ear and slid her lips right over his. It was a fantastic kiss, not that he would have expected any less from a woman like Anthea. It might have held none of the passion that sparked between him and Sherlock, but it was still in his top five hands down.

When they broke apart John had to remind himself to glance over towards Ben. The man was seething. It was clear he was completely pissed off when just moments before he had been calm and collected. He was definitely in it over Anthea. If he was the murderer to be, Anthea was the target. Even John could see that and he had none of Sherlock’s abilities or Anthea’s training.

“Hmmm. I see it. Thank you John, for chatting with me. I’ll let you get back to your party now. It seems you have quite a few other people still to talk to.” Anthea walked away carefully twirling the rose in her hand.

John took a deep breath before walking over to the main group of people and he was instantly snatched up by Amanda and taken over to a secluded spot as well. It wasn’t long before he changed people again all the while dreading talking to Ben. The man was clearly mad and all that anger could be concentrated on John considering he was standing between the other man and the object of his current obsession.  

He had already talked to Anthea, Marissa, Amanda, Veronica, Kayla, Ryan, Kevin, Ian, Joseph, and Elizabeth. Which meant he still had to talk to Mary and Ben. Which would be tough to get through. He could manage it though. He would have to do some acting. Hopefully neither of them was adept at reading people as Sherlock. John would also need to talk to Derek, Spencer, Kathleen, and Sarah. All of whom he had been enjoying getting to know. Then he could finally talk to Sherlock. He knew it probably looked bad if he saved the man for last each time, but he wanted no reason for anyone else to come barging into their conversation.

His conversation with Derek went very well. The man was intriguing. He was a CEO, but he really loved relaxing at a pub and out of a business suit. This was definitely a man that John could see enjoying his time with.

Johns next sought out Spencer to chat with. Their conversation focused on John’s medical training. Spencer found it very interesting that John studied to be a doctor and went through the army to do so. Spencer was the type of man that enjoyed learning, but a lot less so the violence and the activity of the army. Their conversation could have lasted much longer, but a shy Sarah cut in and swept him away.

This conversation was a lovely one. Sarah is a lovely person who John got on with swimmingly. She’s gorgeous and accomplished in the medical field. She is in charge at a London based clinic that sees quite a few patients every day. It sounds wonderful and quite a charming life. Nothing like the one led by Sherlock of course. John even makes a joke about giving her a job application when they all get back to London.

John next seeks out Mary to talk to, he figures he should just go ahead with it. Mary is clearly a charming woman. She’s smart and clever and she keeps the conversation flowing without even trying. John finds himself enjoying talking with her and not having to act a single bit. The one thing he did notice was that she steered the conversation to be focused on him and his life rather than giving any details about herself, probably easier to do that than worry about keeping her lies straight.

Before John even realized what had happened Mary was leaning into his space and carefully slotting her lips against his, which were slightly parted in shock. It took him a moment to realize that he could potentially be kissing a murderer right now and he carefully ended the kiss without being too hasty about it.

Their conversation wrapped up with smiles on both of their faces. This was the first time that John had felt even slightly awkward during their entire chat and he was hoping that he played off well enough to get by any suspicions.

Next John went and grabbed Ben, once again he felt the crushing need to get his conversation over with. Ben was reserved the entire conversation. It wasn’t a surprise clearly if he and Mary were working together Mary was the much more experienced one. Ben was the student in this scenario and he needed to work on his poker face. Sure he could clear his expression, but it wasn’t at all natural to the environment and it drew attention to him.

John was sure that any awkwardness from Ben could have been attributed to him having just been on a one on one date and now having to watch John with all these other people. At least that’s what the producers and the audience would see when they watched the footage since they didn’t have the whole story.

Luckily for John and his sanity Kathleen broke into their conversation and John happily walked away with her. Their conversation was lovely. Once again John could see exactly how wonderful of a person Kathleen was. She was caring and kind and thoughtful. She was beautiful and one of the sweetest women John had ever been attracted to. She also had a lovely sense of humor, which John was reminded of once again during their conversation.

John actually leaned in for this kiss. He knew that Sherlock was probably watching so he made it short and fairly chaste, but he did want to kiss the woman. He honestly liked her and so far he could see nothing but good things from her. Once again John ended a conversation where the both of them walked away smiling. Now John could actually go and talk to Sherlock.

Sherlock, John found was sulking into his wine glass. Clearly the man had a jealous streak a mile wide, John had no clue how he could have denied it so strongly if this was the outcome. Anthea was sitting next to him with a small smirk on her face. She casually looked away and let John be the one to break the silence.

“Sherlock, would you come talk with me for a bit?” John even went so far as to holding out his hand for the other man.

Sherlock glanced up from his glass and took a deep breath. He nodded his head once and downed the rest of his wine. He set the glass on the table in front of him though he completely ignored John’s hand as he stood up. Sherlock walked a few steps ahead and then waited for John to join him.

John stood there for a moment as amusement washed over him. Anthea’s smile had widened and John gave her a small amused tilt of his lips accompanied by a roll of his eyes before turning to join Sherlock. They walked to one of the more blocked off benches and sat down. Sherlock sat there and studied John for a moment. He seemed all right with what he saw as he just nodded once and relaxed into the bench.

“So what have you just figured out then?” John asked wryly.

“That you’ve been wanting to talk to me all night. And that you are glad to be here with me.” Sherlock spoke carefully as though he knew this was true, and yet still didn’t fully believe it.

“All true. Though not all that impressive since I’m certain that I have made myself fairly clear with how much I enjoy your company,” John threw the words out there casually. He meant them probably more than even he knew at that point and that scared him a bit.

“Maybe I just need a reminder.” Sherlock’s voice had dropped even deeper if that was possible and it went instantly to John’s groin. The man was walking sin. It was hell on John’s self-control.

John leaned in and kissed Sherlock like he had wanted to all night. It started off so soft and sweet, but it quickly turned heated as Sherlock opened his mouth to John’s. All at once John couldn’t stop himself from letting his tongue slip out and dance with Sherlock’s. He explored ever small section of Sherlock’s mouth and worked on memorizing the feel of it all.

John wound down the kiss, acknowledging once again that they are in a public setting. When they parted John didn’t move much of a distance from Sherlock as they both regained their breath. “So tell me something about yourself, something I wouldn’t be able to deduce,” John spoke softly still breathing slightly raggedly.

“I play the violin at all hours. Sometimes I don’t talk for days on end. And when I have a case I can be particularly bad about eating and sleeping. It just slows me down.” Sherlock spoke quickly and almost without thought throwing the facts out there.

John could help the smile that spread across his face. He should never expected the normal favorite color, food, animal conversation from someone like Sherlock Holmes. “So do you compose music then, or just play other people’s compositions?”

Sherlock started at the question. He was surprised that John didn’t get stuck on the not sleeping or eating aspect of his admissions. “I do compose. It depends on the problem that I’m thinking over though.”

“Well you’ll have to play for me some time,” John already had some ideas about that. He was quite sure that he could arrange it all a lot sooner than waiting to get back to London to hear Sherlock play. “What about when you aren’t on a case? What do you do then?”

“Hmm. Well depending on my level of boredom I do experiments to collect new data, or I have been known to shoot a wall every now and then. Mrs. Hudson takes it out of my rent each time.” Sherlock mused on the last time that had happened it had been months ago on a long stretch between cases.

“I would say so!” John barked out a laugh at the image. “Mrs. Hudson, is she your landlady then?”

“Oh, yes. I helped her out a few years back so I get a wonderful deal on my flat. Her husband was up for execution. Nasty business of course,” Sherlock spoke casually about a man being executed. John marveled at the man. It was impossible to imagine anyone quite like Sherlock Holmes.

“So you got him off then?” John asked quickly wanting to know more of the story.

“Oh, no. I ensured the execution and proved his guilt. He was a horrible man. Mrs. Hudson is much better off without him.” Sherlock smiled faintly remembering that success and the relief that had been on Mrs. Hudson’s face at the news.

“You are incredible, Sherlock.” John leaned forward and placed a quick kiss on the other man’s mouth before pulling back and moving to stand up. “I’ve sadly got to go get ready for the ceremony. So I’ll see you in a bit.”

Once John walked over to where Marcus was waiting he quickly stepped into the building and waited for when he would be called again. He thought over who he would be sending home tonight. It was a tough call and he did really have to think about it. Though he had an idea of who he didn’t want to go home.

Everyone was lined up when Marcus went and announced his entrance. “So, tonight Sherlock, Ben, and Anthea are all safe with a rose. Eleven roses are left which means three of you will be going home tonight. John, when you’re ready.”

Marcus stepped off to the side and John picked up the first rose and began calling names. “Sarah, Kathleen, Derek, Spencer, Mary, Kayla, Elizabeth, Kevin, Ian, Marissa.”

Marcus swept back over to make his final announcement as the last rose lay on the platform. “John, this is the last rose of the night. Take your time.”

John took a deep breath and said the last name on his list. “Veronica.” The woman let out a loud breath of relief as she moved forward to claim her rose.

After it was all over Marcus once more moved into the frame to play the host of the show. “I’m sorry to say that means that Amanda, Ryan, and Joseph, your journey ends here. Time to say your goodbyes.”

Everyone moved around and hugged their friends. Joseph on said a few words before moving to John, muttering a quick goodbye and walking out through the double doors. Amanda and Ryan, both being the popular type ended up taking quite a bit longer on their goodbyes. They did seem pissed at not being chosen to stay, the both of them weren’t used to rejection. They made rude goodbyes to John, but his knowing that the two were sleeping together he couldn’t really be bother. So he just wished them both the best, with each other, and let the audience figure that one out.

Finally it was time to turn in. He heard the camera crew putting away their equipment as he finally made his way to his room. He was exhausted after the long day, but he did think of one thing listening to the crew and he needed to text Sherlock about it.

_The camera crew. How sure are you it’s not one of them? They are always around. –JW_

**It isn’t. None of them are even remotely interested in any of the goings on of the show. They are all here for a paycheck and the company of the pretty makeup artists. I deduced them all the first night. I’m more and more certain of Ben and Mary. –SH**

_Okay. I just wanted to check. I didn’t want to accidentally say something that could give away what you’re looking for or your abilities to one of them. –JW_

**Don’t worry, John. No one is going to be murdered. And one other thing. I still despise you kissing other people. –SH**

_So I’ve noticed. I really enjoy kissing you though. And I even kind of enjoy how jealous you get. –JW_

**I know what I want and I intend to get it. –SH**

_Goodnight, Sherlock. –JW_

John tucked himself into his bed and settled in for his few hours of sleep before his early morning wakeup call from Marcus, Lucas, and Megan.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed! Please review! :)


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